Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder is on the cusp of his fourth consecutive scoring title, he is a five time NBA all-star and his team is in contention for a championship this year. Durant has now secured a new record; he has broken Michael Jordan’s record for the longest scoring streak of 25 points or more in 40 straight games.
Jordan made this mark 27 years ago in the 1986-1987 season, and it’s hard to believe that in the three decades of basketball since then, none of the other prodigious players in the game reached this milestone. Durant is a bona fide scorer, he’s the type of player that can do it all on the offensive end so maybe it isn’t a wonder that he caught Jordan after all these years.
Durant’s accomplishment is elevated even further by the fact that in the modern NBA game the level of talent is much higher from a team’s bench to their starting five than in Jordan’s era. Not to say that MJ isn’t a legend in his own right, but the fact of the matter is players have improved their game at every position and have even blurred the mold of traditional positions; Durant for example is a new breed of “point-forward.”
More than a freak hot streak, Durant is capable of accomplishing something like this in any given year and in any game. He has proven himself a prolific scorer and he was certainly poised to break the six-time champ’s benchmark in the game against Phoenix, which he did, even though it was not enough to propel the Thunder to victory.
Like most superstars and team leaders, Durant is less concerned with personal accolades and would prefer another point in the win column. After falling to Houston in the record-tying game, Durant told the Associated Press, “We lost the game, that’s all I’m worried about…I don’t care. We lost.”
Grappling for quality playoff position is crucial, especially in the talented Western Conference, where even the lower seeded teams have an opportunity to pull off an upset. OKC is four games behind San Antonio and the Clippers are lurking only a game or two behind, looking to snag the second place seed.
It is yet to be seen if Durant’s scoring prowess and record breaking will be galvanized with an NBA championship, but with his fire power, he provides his team with a strong case to hoist the coveted Larry O’Brien Trophy in May. KD will see just how far the hype surrounding his incredible streak will take him, and Oklahoma City fans hope he can carry this momentum into the playoffs.
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brocha@ramapo.edu
