Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Oklahoma City Thunder‘s Kevin Durant revealed via Instagram that he will not be playing in tonight’s season finale against the Milwaukee Bucks. Sitting out means he will not get the opportunity to surpass Carmelo Anthony for the scoring title. Durant would need 70 points tonight to pass Anthony.
Kevin Durant shared this photo on his Instagram. Carmelo Anthony will win the 2012-13 scoring title. twitter.com/BleacherReport…
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 17, 2013
Many are disappointed of Durant’s decision to not even attempt to top Anthony in the scoring title, but truth is, what does it really matter? Durant has already proven he can be the scoring champion by doing it the past three years.
Despite falling short of the scoring title, Durant is still having the best year of his short career. He has solidified his position in joining the 50-40-90 club, which consists of players that shoot at least 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and 90 percent from the charity stripe.
Kevin Durant is the 6th NBA player to join the 50-40-90 Club & his 28.1 ppg is 2nd only to Larry Bird from this club twitter.com/BleacherReport…
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 17, 2013
Durant’s efficiency should be noted as well. Despite taking two less shots per game than last year, he is averaging .1 points per game more this year. For what it is worth, Anthony is averaging 4.5 more shots per game than Durant.
So, should fans be unhappy with Durant’s decision to sit out the Thunder’s regular season finale? Well, I definitely believe it is the smart thing to do. Why risk injury for a personal accolade that he has already won three years in a row?
When it comes down to it, players are measured by the amount of rings they have in their career. Personal accolades are nice, but an NBA championship is the ultimate goal.
Jared Porter is an Oklahoma City Thunder writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JaredRyanPorter, or add him on Facebook.
