Kevin Durant or LeBron James for MVP? It's Not Even Close

There are some assumptions made concerning the NBA which are so wrong that they are close to blasphemy. The one which says Kevin Durant is pushing LeBron James for the league's MVP award is one of them.

The MVP award is without question one of the most subjective achievements in the NBA, but this season James has come as close to changing that perception since a player by the name of Michael Jordan roamed the court.

James is simply having one of the best seasons in the history of our storied game, and even though his numbers are impressive, his impact on his team and the league define what a real MVP is.

Durant can hold his own with James when it comes to scoring, as his 29.5 points per game are second only to James' 29.7. He fares well when comparing rebounding numbers also with his 7.5 compared to James' 7.3.

But that's about as far as the comparison goes, because James has a better shooting percentage, better assist numbers, and he is the best player for what is currently the NBA's best team.

I can understand the reasoning in elevating Durant to James' status, regardless of how misguided it is, but what I can't understand is there are some who actually think this is a valid comparison.

Even basic responsibilities for their respective teams are different as Durant is his team's primary scorer, while James must assume the role of primary everything for his Cavaliers by leading them in nearly every statistical category.

The argument can be made that Durant is not even the most valuable player in the West. Players such as Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, and Carmelo Anthony can stake claim to that title also.

Bryant, Anthony, and Nowitzki are all having similar seasons to Durant, and their teams are currently better than Durant's young Oklahoma City team, and their expectations for the postseason are greater.

Still, not even those players can hold a light to the accomplishments of James who has evolved into the league's most complete player, without the benefit of the same caliber of players surrounding the ones previously mentioned.

Until the Cavaliers acquired Antawn Jamison one would be hard pressed to pick another all-star on the Cleveland roster. The fact James has kept his team at the top of the standings for the duration of the season is impressive.

His combination of size, strength, and quickness is unmatched in the league, and he is the one player besides Kobe Bryant, who can take over a game at virtually any point in the contest.

James also excels at creating his own scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates, unlike Durant who must depend on Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green to maximize his scoring opportunities.

This is by no means an indictment of Durant, because he is quite possibly the most offensively gifted young player to enter the league in quite some time, but where his game is limited, James excels.

There may be some MVP awards down the road for the young gunner, but to hold him in the same breath as James this season is doing a great disservice to what James has accomplished.

We are witnessing what may be one of the greatest individual efforts in the history of basketball on the part of James, while Durant is putting up numbers we have all seen before.

Durant's streak of consecutive games with at least 25 points is definitely attention-grabbing, but the potential of James to obtain a triple-double in any game is much more telling.

The only people who are saying that Durant deserves serious consideration for the MVP award must not be aware that James already had it won after the All-Star break.