Kevin Durant (@KDThunderup) can become one of the greatest scorers in NBA history and lock up a spot in the Hall of Fame this upcoming season. Before you call me asinine, let me explain myself.
Call him what you want to call him; KD, Durantula, Kid Delicious, or even KSmooove. No matter how you spell it it always reads ‘points’. KD gets his and there isn’t much the NBA can do to deny him.
Last year he scored a remarkable 30.1 points per game. Including a few scoring streaks that nearly gave Jordan’s records a run for their money. Now think about this: Kid Delicious, in only his third NBA season, was crowned the youngest scoring champion in NBA history at 21 years old.
Being this good this young is a rarity in this game. To put things into perspective; the only other player under 21 to score 30+ a game was Lebron James. Not Kobe, not Michael, not Kareem and not Wilt. In fact averaging 30 points a game for an entire NBA season is so difficult that it has only been done 77 times by 30 different players. (Jordan x 8, Chamberlain x 7, Robertson x 6, Barry x 4, Dantley x 4, West x 4, Iverson x 4, Abdul-Jabbar x 3, Baylor x 3, Bryant x 3, McAdoo x 3, James x 2, Gervin x 2, Wilkins x 2, Archibald, Bellamy, Erving, Free, Hawkins, Issel, King, K. Malone, M. Malone, Maravich, McGrady, Pettit, Scott, Twyman, Wade, and Durant.)
Only 13 of those 30 have averaged 30 points per game in two or more seasons and of those 13 players, only 11 of them (pictured above) have done it in consecutive years: Chamberlain (59-66), Baylor (60-63), Robertson (60-62, 63-67), West (64-66), Barry (66-69), Abdul-Jabbar (70-73), McAdoo (73-76), Dantley (80-84), Iverson (01-03, 04-06), Bryant (05-07), Jordan (86-93).
You don’t average 30 points in consecutive seasons on accident, everyone of these 11 players is or will be enshrined in the Hall of fame when eligible. And of the 30 players mentioned earlier only Charlie Scott and Bernard King have not made the Hall of Fame (Side note: How the heck is Bernard King NOT in the Hall of Fame?)
Another great qualifier for great scorers is the NBA Scoring Title (which KD won last year). Only nine players have won consecutive scoring titles: Mikan (48-51), Johnston (52-55), Chamberlain (59-66), McAdoo (73-76), Gervin (77-80), Jordan (86-93, 95-98), Iverson (00-02), McGrady (02-04), Bryant (05-07). Again every single one of these players is in the Hall of Fame.
If we filter out players down to those who have scored 30 points per game and won scoring titles in consecutive seasons we get the following short list: Chamberlain, McAdoo, Jordan, Iverson, and Bryant.
Kevin Durant has a shot at etching his name on this short list this season and it’s hard to imagine that he won’t. His closest competition is either aging (Kobe), demanding trades (Carmelo Anthony), or giving up points for rings (LeBron and Wade). Durantula’s game is expanding and maturing through hard work and age. Kevin has had an impressive off-season; stealing LeBron’s most-lovable-player title, taking over Kobe’s Team USA leader title, and inking a massive contract extension with the Thunder. Based on his drive, work ethic and humility KD is sure to put up better numbers this coming year. It’s near impossible to fathom that this young man will only be 22 years old playing in his fourth (!!!) NBA season.
I’m going to pencil him in for 34 points per game. How many points do you think KD will average in the 2010-11 season?
**EDITS:
Photo: I fixed the typo on the photo, sorry about that. Still recovering from Vegas.
Tracy McGrady: In NO WAY do I think T-Mac is going to the Hall of Fame. I meant to mention him as one of those never going. Thanks to all of you that pointed that out.
Don’t forget to pick up your very own Durant/USA t-shirt from the NBA Off-season Shop:
haha i dont see lebron in this
