In the 12-year MVP battle, why did KD, who has better data record, lose to James? These factors are the key

After the NBA officially announced the winner of the regular season MVP of the 2024-2025 season, the outside world would not be surprised by this result. Although Jokic can average 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game this season, Alexander, who averaged 32.7 points, 5 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.7 steals and 1 block per game, his personal performance is not bad at all. The most important thing is that under his leadership, the Thunder ranked first in the league with a 68-14 loss performance. Therefore, with the obvious record advantage of the naked eye, Alexander can be said to have locked in the MVP early.

Because of this award, Alexander became the third player in history to win the MVP as a Thunder player, and the past two were Durant and Westbrook. When it comes to Durant, many Thunder fans will still be upset about his failure to win the regular season MVP in the 2011-2012 season. That year, Durant lost to James in the competition for MVP, and the latter also won the third MVP in his career. Next, let’s review the performance of these two people that season to see if James’s MVP trophy deserves it!

Personal data comparison: James is obviously more dominant

First, let's take a look at the personal performance of James and Durant. James averaged 27.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.9 steals and 0.8 blocks per game in the regular season, while his shooting percentage and three-point shooting percentage were 53.1% and 36.2% respectively. Durant averaged 28 points, 8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.2 blocks in the regular season, with his shooting percentage and three-point shooting percentages of 49.6% and 38.7% respectively. If you only look at these five basic data, James is obviously a more comprehensive and efficient player on the offensive end. His steals also have obvious advantages on the defensive end. The most important thing is that the Heat have relied heavily on defensive counterattacks in those years, so the importance of his data is very important to the Heat. In terms of

, among which the more important win contribution and efficiency values ​​are, James's two data are 14.5 and 30.7, while Durant's are 12.2 and 26.2. It can be seen that the gap between the two is still very obvious. The reason for this is that it has a lot to do with the way of playing between the two. James is a typical core of the ball holding. He is the Heat's first engine on the offensive end. At the same time, when Wade holds the ball, he can also score without the ball by empty cuts, fast breaks and other unstoppable methods, so as long as he can easily play the influence on the court. In contrast, Durant's passing skills generally determine that he cannot play the role of tactical starting point in many cases, and the Thunder does have Westbrook and Harden taking on such tasks.

There is also the defensive end. In addition to being good at stealing and counterattacking directly, James' comprehensive defense switching and supporting frame are also better than Durant. Although the latter averages more blocks per game, it can be seen from the fact that James was selected for the best defensive team, he has never been selected for the best defensive team. The defense level of these two people is completely different.

Team record: Durant is slightly better

The regular season Heat and the Thunder are very close to each other, with the former winning 46 wins and 20 losses, while the Thunder having 47 wins and 19 losses. They are also ranked second in their respective divisions. Many people may say that the Heat's lineup is better, why don't you say no? In fact, otherwise, the Heat's lineup seemed to have three giants, James, Wade and Bosh, but at the same time, their lineup shortcomings were very obvious. First of all, there are conflicts in James and Way's style of play, and everyone knows that the team's inside line is too weak, which is the main reason why the Pacers were able to play back and forth with the Heat in those years.

For the Thunder, in addition to Durant, they also have two double-season guards on the outside who both score and pass the ball. In the inside, they not only have champion center Perkins, but also Ibaka with outstanding physical fitness. In addition to James playing 62 games in the regular season, Wade and Bosh missed 17 and 9 games respectively. Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka played all the regular season in the Thunder lineup, and Harden and Perkins also had 60+ attendances.

The record of the two sides: each has a victory or defeat

Since the Heat and the Thunder are in different divisions, the two teams have only had two matches in the regular season. However, since we are both strong teams, we will pay more attention to each other's fights. In addition, we all know that James and Durant are MVP competitors, so when the Heat and the Thunder fight, the game atmosphere is more intense than that of the ordinary regular season.

The Heat and Thunder first played against each other in the 2011-2012 season at the latter's home court. Durant performed particularly well in this game. He played in 32 minutes, scored 28 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 1 block, and under his leadership, the Thunder also won the game. James obviously performed poorly in this game, and he only scored 17 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists in the whole game, so it would not be surprising if the Heat lost.

Less than half a month after the first match, the two sides met at the Heat again at home. This time James successfully regained the game. With Wade (7 of 18 shots) and Bosh (4 of 14 shots) both performing poorly, he carried the team and scored 34 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists, 4 steals and 1 block in the whole game. Under his leadership, the Heat successfully won the game. Although Durant still scored 30 points in this game, he also made 9 mistakes, which became the key to their loss..

Regular season background: James is more storytelling

Since James announced his joining the Heat in 2010, he and the Heat have become "public enemy of the league". Especially after they lost to the Mavericks in the finals in 2011, there were more teams outside that were watching them jokes. At that time, many people were even looking forward to when the Heat Big Three would disintegrate. Fortunately, the defeat in 2011 did not completely sink into James and the Heat. They gave a strong counterattack in the 2011-2012 season, especially James' MVP-level performance, and people gradually realized his transformation. As for Durant, his popularity at that time was simply impossible to compare with James. After all, he was still very young at that time, so many times his game with the Thunder would still lack attention compared to the Heat where James was.