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Kevin Durant of Oklahoma City Thunder wins MVP award for first time - ESPN
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Kevin Durant has plenty of scoring titles. Now, he finally has an MVP trophy to go with them.
The Oklahoma City Thunder star won the NBA's top individual honor Tuesday, receiving 119 first-place votes. Miami's LeBron James, who had won the last two MVP awards and four of the previous five, finished second with six first-place votes, and Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers was third.
Joakim Noah and James Harden rounded out the top five.
An emotional Durant thanked everyone from his teammates to his mother, Wanda Pratt, at a ceremony in Edmond, Okla., on Tuesday.
"You made us believe, you kept us off the streets, put clothes on our backs, put food on the table," a teary-eyed Durant said to his mother, who was in attendance. "You the real MVP."
Durant also thanked veteran forward Caron Butler, who shortly after signing with the Thunder on March 1 placed a note in Durant's locker that read, "KD MVP."
"I don't really say much in those moments, but I remember that," Durant said. "I go home and I think about that stuff, man. When you got people behind you, you can do whatever."
Durant won his fourth scoring crown in five years by averaging 32 points. The 6-foot-9 forward helped the Thunder go 59-23, second-best in the league, despite playing much of the season without three-time All-Star Russell Westbrook by his side because of a nagging knee injury.
"Everything in my life, I had to take it," Durant said . "They're not going to give it to you out of sympathy. I wouldn't want it any other way. This was another case, if I wanted to win the MVP, I had to go take it. I felt that this was the year I did that."
Durant becomes the first player to win both the scoring title and the MVP award in the same season since Allen Iverson did it in 2000-01.
"He's basically put himself in front of everybody else in the league and shown that he's the best player in the world," Westbrook said at the end of the regular season.
James agreed, saying Monday: "He deserved it, for sure. It's big-time on his part. His maturity level went up every single season both on and off the floor."
James made a point not to compare the expectations placed on Durant after winning the MVP and his own experience.
"Every guy is different," James said. "I can't comment on what I went through (compared to Durant) and the expectations that came with it. Everybody's different. Everybody's journey is different. I can only talk about my experience."
With Tuesday's voting results, Durant and James set an NBA mark, finishing in the top two in MVP voting for the fourth time, surpassing Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, who were in the top two on three occasions.
Durant's run of 41 consecutive games this season with at least 25 points was the third-longest streak in NBA history.
The Oklahoma City Thunder star won the NBA's top individual honor Tuesday, receiving 119 first-place votes. Miami's LeBron James, who had won the last two MVP awards and four of the previous five, finished second with six first-place votes, and Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers was third.
Joakim Noah and James Harden rounded out the top five.
An emotional Durant thanked everyone from his teammates to his mother, Wanda Pratt, at a ceremony in Edmond, Okla., on Tuesday.
"You made us believe, you kept us off the streets, put clothes on our backs, put food on the table," a teary-eyed Durant said to his mother, who was in attendance. "You the real MVP."
Durant also thanked veteran forward Caron Butler, who shortly after signing with the Thunder on March 1 placed a note in Durant's locker that read, "KD MVP."
"I don't really say much in those moments, but I remember that," Durant said. "I go home and I think about that stuff, man. When you got people behind you, you can do whatever."
Durant won his fourth scoring crown in five years by averaging 32 points. The 6-foot-9 forward helped the Thunder go 59-23, second-best in the league, despite playing much of the season without three-time All-Star Russell Westbrook by his side because of a nagging knee injury.
"Everything in my life, I had to take it," Durant said . "They're not going to give it to you out of sympathy. I wouldn't want it any other way. This was another case, if I wanted to win the MVP, I had to go take it. I felt that this was the year I did that."
Durant becomes the first player to win both the scoring title and the MVP award in the same season since Allen Iverson did it in 2000-01.
"He's basically put himself in front of everybody else in the league and shown that he's the best player in the world," Westbrook said at the end of the regular season.
James agreed, saying Monday: "He deserved it, for sure. It's big-time on his part. His maturity level went up every single season both on and off the floor."
James made a point not to compare the expectations placed on Durant after winning the MVP and his own experience.
"Every guy is different," James said. "I can't comment on what I went through (compared to Durant) and the expectations that came with it. Everybody's different. Everybody's journey is different. I can only talk about my experience."
With Tuesday's voting results, Durant and James set an NBA mark, finishing in the top two in MVP voting for the fourth time, surpassing Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, who were in the top two on three occasions.
Durant's run of 41 consecutive games this season with at least 25 points was the third-longest streak in NBA history.