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Kevin Durant Is Not a Fan of Giannis Antetokounmpo and He Made That Clear with a Joel Embiid Claim

Published 03/19/2022, 11:00 AM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

The NBA is experiencing a scoring flood. There have been as many as eight 50 plus point games under 2 weeks. With so many players putting up their best effort, MVP voting becomes more interesting. 

As currently, the top 15 players in the league are averaging at least 25 points a game. Though the MVP criteria is not fully based on stats, it also includes players’ efforts to lead their team to a championship. 

It is tough to vote for an MVP right now, as the competition is tight among some of the biggest names in the NBA. With the race for the award looking tight, Brooklyn Nets star, Kevin Durant, gave his top 3 picks. Though he did not choose to acknowledge the former NBA champ.

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Kevin Durant’s Top 3 MVP candidates

When asked in a post-game interview, Kevin Durant picked Joel Embiid, DeMar DeRozan, and Ja Morant as his top 3 MVP candidates. As he said, “Joel Embiid, uhm.. DeMar DeRozan and Ja Morant for me. Those are my top three.”

USA Today via Reuters

He went on to mention Nikola Jokic as well, “Jokic!, you could throw Jokic in there. But I’m probably gonna go Joel. I mean, there are so many great players playing in a high-level man, so like I said the other day, the league is in a great place.” said Durant.

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As it is true, his top 3 MVP candidates are playing exceptionally well. 

DeRozan is averaging 27.8 points, 5.1 assists, and 5.3 rebounds a game, playing beside Zach Lavine as both contribute the most to the team. Ja Morant in his third NBA season is averaging 27.6 points, 6.7 assists, and 5.7 rebounds a game, leading his team to the second seed in the Western Conference.

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Whereas his top pick, Joel Embiid is currently leading the league in points per game, putting up 30 each game, with 11 rebounds and dishing out 4 assists on average. 

Is Kevin not a fan of Giannis?

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Naming some of the top names for his MVP list, Durant did not mention Giannis. The 2 time MVP is having his best season so far, scoring 29.8 points per game, and is leading the Bucks in rebounds. As Giannis shows, he is ready for the playoffs.

WATCH THIS STORY: Kevin Durant Drops Scary Prediction for Brooklyn Nets in Subtle Message to Recently Traded James Harden 

Fans might sense some rivalry in this scenario as this goes back to the 2020-21 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. As the Brooklyn Nets lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in a hard-fought 7 game series.

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The Bucks are currently hanging onto the second seed in the East and the Nets hold the eighth seed. If they meet in the playoffs, it will be an interesting rematch between the Greek Freak and the Slim Reaper.

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Written by:

Balraj Singh Babrah

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Balraj Singh Babrah is an NBA writer with EssentiallySports. He has been an NBA fan since 2016, and watching Curry shoot from distance inspired him to play basketball. Additionally, he loves analyzing and predicting games based on stats.
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Edited by:

Arunaditya Aima