3 reasons why Kevin Durant might pip Stephen Curry for the MVP award | NBA Season 2021-22

Kevin Durant's Brooklyn Nets ran into turbulence before the season began when seven-time All-Star Kyrie Irving stopped playing because of a personal decision involving COVID. His absence left a big hole in the big three of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Irving. Durant's burden increased when Harden struggled early in the season.

Nevertheless, KD has risen to the challenge and in doing so has emerged as a frontrunner in the race for this season's NBA MVP award. After missing all of the 2019-20 season with a torn Achilles tendon and nearly two months of last season with a strained hamstring, he seems to be the healthiest he has been in some time.

The Brooklyn Nets were extremely cautious with their superstar last season. Kevin Durant played in just 35 of the team's 72 games, as they opted to rest him in back-to-back games. In contrast, he has played 16 of 17 games for the Nets (12-5). That includes all four games of back-to-backs.

The Nets picked a good time to give Durant rest when they held him out of their last game, Friday's 115-113 win over the Orlando Magic. With the team not playing until Monday night's game at the Cleveland Cavaliers, that bit of load management has given KD four full days of rest. His last game was Wednesday night in a 109-99 victory over the Cavs.

Meanwhile, James Harden has started to find his form after either struggling with conditioning (Harden said he didn't get enough time in the shortened offseason to recover from a hamstring injury) or adjusting to the new rule that prevents offensive players from drawing contact with defenders in order to get to the free throw line.

While Kevin Durant led the Nets in scoring in 11 of the team's first 12 games, Harden has led Brooklyn in four of its past five games.

Kevin Durant, the league's MVP in 2013-14, is dominating with 28.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. His main competition in the race appears to be the hard-battling point guard at Golden State, Steph Curry, a two-time MVP. Curry sits at 29.5 ppg to guide a team that is an NBA-best 15-2 and won 117-99 Tuesday at Brooklyn.

The Warriors, powered by Steph Curry and Draymond Green and coached by Steve Kerr in the past eight seasons, have returned to the stride that saw them reach five straight NBA Finals and win three titles in that span before failing to make the playoffs in each of the past two seasons.

The Nets, meanwhile, have yet to have an extended time to have its big three on the floor together under its second-year coach, Steve Nash, and mesh like Golden State.

Durant is averaging a similar scoring average (28.6 this season, 26.9 last season) and rebounding average (7.9 this season, 7.1 last season). Most importantly, he's been making the big-time plays in tight games and has been the team's main force while Harden works his way back to being a volume scorer.

With the race so close, here are three reasons why Kevin Durant will win his second league MVP award.

Kevin Durant has shown phenomenal precision

What differs between Kevin Durant and the rest of the league is his accuracy in high-intensity situations. He is shooting 61.2 percent from midrange and 42.4 from 3-point range. Even Steph Curry, known for his outrageous 3-pointers, is at 40.6% percent beyond the 3. That's almost a full 2% behind Kevin Durant.

While Durant has James Harden as help, James' sluggish start forced KD to make the hard decisions he needed to create space on the court by himself. He makes passing plays, calls the shots and drops dimes. His accuracy alone could hold him a spot in MVP contention. Durant is proving to be an issue by himself and does not seem phased by fellow All-Star Kyrie Irving being unavailable.

Kevin Durant is showing he can be a leader

While Kevin Durant has been on star-studded teams in the past with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Golden State Warriors, this season has shown a new side to his leadership by overcoming the loss of Irving as well as Harden's slow start to still shine as a clutch player. KD is keeping the demeanor he needs and has led Brooklyn to a tie with the Chicago Bulls (12-5) atop the Eastern Conference.

The Golden State Warriors are without Klay Thompson, who missed all of last season but is expected to return soon, with Steph Curry, meanwhile, carrying that team, as usual. Perhaps fully healthy for the first time since coming to Brooklyn, KD has a lot on his shoulders but looks even quicker and fresher on the court.

Kevin Durant seems to be staying healthy

Cleveland Cavaliers v Brooklyn Nets

Before this season, Kevin Durant lost 18 months of gameplay because of injury, appearing in only 35 games. With the playing time Durant got last year, coach Steve Nash practiced load management. This year may have been much the same for the 33-year-old if not for Irving's absence, and KD has responded.

Kevin Durant is averaging 34.5 minutes per game in 15 games played, ahead of his average of 33.1 minutes from last season, and his body has handled the extra work.