He's asked about it in every city he visits. Never a day off. You'd think that by now, he'd be pretty sick of it.
Not so.
"Nah, it's pretty cool," Durant said in Boston on Wednesday night. "It's cool, man. A kid like me, coming from where I came from and how I've grown as a player, for people to say that I'm in the talks for MVP in the NBA, that's something I never really dreamed about. Never really envisioned it. It's pretty cool, but at the same time, it's something that I'm not worried about."
Durant currently ranks second in the NBA in points per game with 29.6, right behind LeBron James' 29.8. Entering Wednesday night, he's tops in the league in total points (2,158) and free throws made (654), and third in minutes (2,870).
He's led the Thunder, a 23-win team a year ago, into contention in the Western Conference. They're 45-28 heading into Wednesday's game against the Celtics, sixth in the West. At this point, he's worried more about the team's success than his own accolades.
"I really haven't thought about it," Durant said of the MVP race. "A lot of people come up to me and wish me good luck, and I kind of look at them like, 'What do you mean?' Every year, there's going to be guys in the MVP race like Dwight Howard, LeBron, Kobe [Bryant], D-Wade. I never envisioned myself in that category yet. Hopefully, before it's all said and done, I can get up there with those guys. But right now, I'm just trying to do my best to help this team get to the playoffs."
His chances look good. The Thunder have a magic number of three to eliminate the ninth-place Memphis Grizzlies from playoff contention — the number is two for 10th-place Houston. Durant's first career postseason berth could be just days away.
