Why Kevin Durant Will Win The 2011 NBA MVP

We all know what Kevin Durant is capable of. We all saw it this past NBA season. He became the youngest player to win an NBA scoring title, and led the Thunder to a playoff berth in the team's second season. These are all great things, but Durant will only expand on that success this season.

Kevin Durant will win the MVP award this season. He almost won the award last year, and he is only going to get better since he is so young. The competition has also fallen a bit. Stats are a huge measure in the MVP award. Dwyane Wade almost won the award in 2008 for his ridiculous stats.

But Wade and LeBron James are on the same team now so their stats will fall. I don't doubt either could win the MVP on separate teams, but both of their stats won't be up to standards on different teams.

The only people I see challenging Durant would be Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, possibly James or Wade, and of course Kobe Bryant.

Anthony has never really been considered for an MVP, so I don't think he will sneak away with the award.

Howard is a different case. He had votes for this year's MVP, but he has never been a serious contender. His stats aren't up to par with the Durants and LeBrons of the league. He didn't even average 20 points per game last season.

Bryant is the best player on one of the best teams so he will obviously be in contention. Kobe also has great stats, however I believe Durant's will be better. Kobe has won the award before and voters love voting for the new guy. I do think that Kobe will be Durant's biggest obstacle.

Durant is also getting a great deal of leadership by being the best player on his own team and Team USA. This will also carry over to next season. Durant has been the best player on the Sonics/Thunder since he began his career, but he has never been the best player on a championship contending team.

The Thunder will be a better team than last season because they are a very young team and every year of experience is a big deal. The Thunder got better as the season progressed, taking the heavily favored Lakers to six games.

The final reason is because of his publicity. The Thunder weren't a very popular team in 2009, but now that they burst onto the scene, more people will be watching. Chris Paul, a very deserving candidate of the 2008 MVP award, didn't win it. Kobe was a great pick as well. If I had a vote it would have gone to Chris Paul, but it didn't help that people that lived outside of the south didn't get to see him too much.