The battle for the leagues best player is seemingly getting underway in a very entertaining manner. It’s really starting to get interesting to say the least. It looks like we are going to see a very close finish between Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder and LeBron James of the Miami Heat. It is turning into a very good battle between them to see who gets the crown of being the leagues “Most Valuable Player.”

I think a lot on this subject matters what your opinions are on what an MVP is and should be. Firstly, I think both players are having great seasons, and both are easily the top 2 contenders hands down. I think that Durant feels he is done playing 2nd fiddle to Lebron. He has had amazing games this season, hanging 54 on Golden State.

Having a massive triple double game against the Sixers. He carried the Thunder when Westbrook was out. Scoring at will, and dominating the league, with media clambering all over the “Durantula.”

Now, if anyone deserves to knock the King from his throne it should be Durant, and if he wins it, I would be open with the decision. Durant leads the Thunder in most categories. With his sleek shot and quick release, his scoring has been beyond enjoyable. And with his speed and his offensive awareness, he has been unbelievably aggressive with his “taking over games” mentality. And teammates gain confidence from having that kind of player on your team. I have felt for years that Westbrook has held Durant back, and with Westbrook being out for awhile, it allowed KD to shine.

Now, on the other side, I also believe that LeBron is sick of hearing Kevin Durant is now the NBAs best player. He has more to prove to fans again this year. Anyone with a competing side, and a professional athlete in particular, would get real provoked with the fact that everyone is saying that “your time has come, you’re not the best in the NBA anymore.” Durant had a strong stretch this season, around 12 games where he was really playing excessively well. But does that mean he is the MVP of the league?

LeBron leads his team in basically every category as well. Which is the meaning of an MVP. Are you the best player not of just your team, but of the entire league? Let’s face facts here, LeBron is the best basketball player in the world in this era, and he has proven it many times over, no matter who dislikes the concept of it. He is a walking stat filler, across the board, each and every night is a potential triple double.

And let’s also take into consideration, LeBron is having a “down year” by many peoples standards. Only scoring 27 and 7 boards and 7 assists a night. Durant gets 4 more shots a night than LeBron, because of LeBrons sharing play, getting the team involved all the time. LeBron getting 21 shots a game, he would be scoring 33 a night, statistically speaking. And with that, Durant is now his equal?

Durant is a big scorer, not a great defender, where as LeBron is the teams best defender, as well as perhaps the leagues best defender. We all know about him being able to legitimately guard every position on the court by now. That’s a pretty ominous component as well.

For seasons upon seasons those who didn’t like LeBron, for whatever their reasons, have bashed and disrespected him for one reason or another. No one can argue that he has continued to silence the haters for some time now. And that makes them even more angry.

James could be among the game’s top players of all time by winning a 5th MVP crown. LeBron would become one of 4 players all time to reach that awe-inspiring mark. We shall see, Durant could win the MVP, but I always feel it should go to the games best player each year. And to me, it’s still LeBron James. Let’s hold off on taking the crown away from the King, just yet.

Written by TonyK of VegasTopDogs.com