Kevin Durant is one of the brightest stars in the league. Besides LeBron James, there is nobody else in the NBA a coach would want to build a team around. Now that he is leading his team into the Finals, and James has struggled in his quest for a ring, can the argument be made that Durant has the chance of being better than Michael Jordan?
Before you fall out of your seat, let's just examine a few things. Jordan redefined the sport of basketball, I am not comparing Durant to that scale, I just want to compare the numbers.
Kevin Durant has been playing in the NBA for five years. He was 19 when he entered the league.
In his third year in the league, he won his first scoring title at the age of 21, averaging 30.1 points per game.
That same year he took his team to the playoffs. This was only the Thunder's second season in Oklahoma City, which made it special.
Every season following their first postseason appearance, the Thunder have improved in the playoffs.
They were bounced in the first round by the champions of 2010, the Los Angels Lakers, and last year the Dallas Mavericks bounced them out in the Conference Finals.
With all the other dominant West teams declining in age, except for the Los Angeles Clippers, the Oklahoma City Thunder came into the 2012 season looking to get to the Finals.
Durant has the chance to win the championship this year after only three years of playing in the postseason.
It did not take Michael Jordan long to get into the playoffs. The Chicago Bulls were in it in his first season.
Jordan was also 21 when he made his first playoff appereance. The Bulls kept getting bounced in the first round for three years and Jordan led the team in scoring all three.
Jordan kept going up against the Detroit Pistons, but could not get passed them until the 1991 season when he finally won it all.
It was not until his seventh season that Jordan got his first ring. Durant is only in his fifth season and he has the chance to win his first and he has made it to the Finals after only three playoff appearances.
Jordan and Durant are guys you can count on at any point in the game. They are feared players that can attack from anywhere on the floor.
Jordan's advantage was that nobody could keep up with him. Similar to Magic Johnson's style of play, Jordan had tricks up his sleeve the NBA had not seen before.
Durant's ability to shoot from the outside is pretty amazing and he is currently working on his inside game.
Granted the Durant is not a high flying dunker, he still finds a way to score and there is nobody else you would trust in the fourth quarter to hit the winning shot.
Jordan currently holds the advantage in all the awards and stats, but if Durant stays healthy and continues to perform at this rate, he can give Jordan a run at his records.
With the Thunder being a young team and David Stern trying to keep superstars in small markets like Oklahoma City, they have a great chance of keeping the talented club together.
The NBA could be seeing a dynasty forming right before their eyes and the best of Kevin Durant is probably still to come.
MJ rings 6. Durant 0.
But not for long.