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All-star LeBron James of the Miami Heat has had a stranglehold on the NBA’s most valuable player award by winning it four times in the last five years including the last two seasons in a row. However, he was the runner-up this season as the honour went to 6-foot-9 forward Kevin Durant of the Western Conference’s Oklahoma City Thunder.

Durant was named the MVP after his name appeared first on 119 of the ballots. James was a distant second with just half a dozen first-place votes while Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers finished in third position in the voting. Durant led the NBA in scoring this term by averaging 32 points a game and he’s now topped the scoring charts in four of the last five campaigns.

The forward’s scoring prowess helped the Thunder finish the regular season with a 59-23 record, which was the second best in the league. This was quite an achievement considering three-time All-Star Russell Westbrook was out of the lineup on numerous occasions with a knee problem. Westbrook was impressed with his teammate this year and said he performed at the top level on a consistent basis and regards him as the world’s best basketball player at the moment.

Durant went 41 consecutive games this season in which he scored at least 25 points, which is the league’s third-longest streak. He managed to post 40 points on 14 occasions and averaged 7.4 rebounds a night along with 5.5 assists, which is his career high. His shooting from the field was also impressive at 50 per cent. Durant carried his team to a 20-7 record when Westbrook wasn’t able to play and averaged 35 points a game in those contests along with 6.3 assists.

The MVP displayed incredible stamina this season as well as strength as he can no longer be pushed around on the court by opponents. He enjoyed some incredible games this season including the day in January when he reached a career high 54 points in a home outing against Golden State. In addition, he posted a triple-double in a game against Philadelphia and scored 51 points while playing a remarkable 53 minutes in a double overtime match against Toronto. Not surprisingly, Durant scored the game-winner with under two seconds remaining in the marathon game.