Draymond Green lauds Kevin Durant performing at MVP caliber this season: “Not sure if anybody expected KD to be back at MVP level”

Part of what makes the Brooklyn Nets' campaign different is largely because of Kevin Durant's play from the beginning. His former teammate Draymond Green has shared his appreciation of how Durant and the Nets have played this season.

Back from taking a break from his podcast, Green shared why Durant's MVP-caliber season has helped turn things around.

"Brooklyn Nets are sitting at the two seed, KD's averaging 30, 7 and 5. Not quite sure anybody expected KD to be back at an MVP level. And not because Kevin Durant doesn't always play at an MVP level, because quite frankly, we've seen this for years. Especially, we've seen this a lot with LeBron James," Green said.

"When you're that good, people start to not appreciate it. And so to think that KD can play again at the level to where people were appreciated enough, to even mention him in the MVP conversation, as supposed to just being like, 'Oh, man. That's just Kevin, and that's what he does.'"

The Nets are currently second in the Eastern Conference standings and the Atlantic Division standings. A lot of this has to do with the way Durant has led the team. Since the start of the 77th NBA season, KD has only missed one game for Brooklyn. His availability and consistency have played a huge role in their season.

In the latest update for the MVP tracker, Durant is third in the race behind Nikola Jokic and Jayson Tatum, who are first and second respectively. the 12-time All-Star could potentially win his second MVP award. With the way his team has been performing, things could line up perfectly for KD.

---

Fred VanVleet praises Kevin Durant and the Nets for turning things around

Brooklyn Nets v Toronto Raptors

Other teams have started to notice how Kevin Durant and the Nets have turned things around. They started the season as one of the most dysfunctional teams that struggled to make any sense of where they were headed. This time around, Brooklyn has found their direction and is playing better than ever.

One player who noticed the change was Toronto Raptors star Fred VanVleet. After being in the same division, they're often scheduled to meet during the 82-game season. While guesting on JJ Redick's Old Man and the Three, VanVleet shared how different it has been playing the Nets.

"We played Brooklyn when they looked like they didn't want to be there and hated each other and Steve [Nash] was there. And you could tell there was... messed up," VanVleet said.

"We played them recently, and it's just like, they're on a rhythm. They're on a clock. And everybody's bought in and everything's flowing in the right way. I think those are the best teams, are bought in, completely to everything they got going on."

Durant and the Nets will face Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans in their next game on Friday.