Kevin Durant’s Absence From MVP Race is Because He is American: Rich Paul

While Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic won’t be out for the entire season with his knee injury, he won’t be eligible for any end-of-season awards. That opens the door for someone like Kevin Durant to step up and make a case for being the MVP. But LeBron James’ agent, Rich Paul doesn’t believe the Houston Rockets star could seriously contend for the award. Paul argues that Durant being American is going to play against him.

Durant has been one of the best players in the NBA for quite some time. Despite being 37, he continues to dominate the competition at an elite level. In his first season with the Rockets, the two-time NBA champion is averaging 25.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.

As a result, the Rockets are one of the top contenders in the Western Conference. Houston currently sits at the third seed with a 21-10 record. Durant may not be the favourite to win MVP, but he has certainly put together a season worthy of being in the conversation. But according to the NBA’s KIA MVP Ladder, Durant isn’t even in the top 10.

Shocked to see the state of affairs, Rich Paul simply can’t grasp the logic behind how the general public has discredited Durant’s season thus far.

“Why isn’t Kevin Durant’s name in the MVP race?” Paul asked on the Game Over podcast. “Why does the American all-time greats get penalized for still being great?”

Paul’s frustration could also stem from watching LeBron James deal with this his entire career. Objectively speaking, James should have more accolades under his belt. However, he has been so good that fatigue has begun to set in. It’s possible we are seeing the same with Durant. That said, it is unclear how much their nationality has to do with it.

The 15-time All-Star has only won the MVP award once. Instead of giving him the flowers he deserves, he now has expectations to perform at this level on a nightly basis.

“He’s not getting the recognition. Do you see his numbers?” a visibly frustrated sighed.

What Durant is doing at his age isn’t normal. As a matter of fact, LeBron, Durant, and Stephen Curry have spoiled fans so much that performing at a godly level in their late 30s is now being considered normal.