Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant is on a very fast rise in the NBA. He led the young Thunder to the playoffs this past season and nearly upset the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers, was the MVP of the gold-medal winning Team USA in this year’s World Championship and is the youngest scoring champion in NBA history.

He has a ton of reasons to feel accomplished and even cocky. Thankfully, he’s remained a humble and honest star so far during his career, a quality that endears him to fans even more. He continued in that role by responding to the latest puzzling statement to come out of Ron Artest‘s mouth.

Artest is notorious for saying just about anything and everything that enters his mind and he kept in form with his recent opinion. on who the best players in the NBA are. Shocking absolutely no one, he gushed about his teammate Kobe Bryant being on top. The headline-grabber came when he said Durant was second and then cut his list off.

“Durant’s the second best player in the NBA,” Artest said. When asked where LeBron James ranks on his list, Artest excluded the back-to-back MVP from consideration.

“I only count to two,” Artest said. “I’ve been out of school for 10 years, so I only count to two.”

It was an obvious slight to LeBron, who is widely considered the best by 99 percent of the people outside of Los Angeles. Artest was clearly trying to play mind games, but Durant isn’t having any of it. He hopped on his Twitter and addressed the comments.

Kudos to KD for avoiding getting involved in the back and forth mess. The craziest part of it all though is that if you were to make a top two list in today’s NBA based on individual performances and not previous reputation, Durant does strongly deserve to be listed second, but behind LeBron and not Kobe.

Durant finished second in MVP voting last season to LeBron (Kobe had zero first place votes & finished third), was first in scoring by only percentage points ahead of, you guessed it, LeBron and is already a serious contender to win the award this year, possibly ending LeBron’s dominance there.

So while Artest does his best to cozy up to Kobe, Durant will keep taking the high road and focus on improving his team and not opponents rankings of him, all the while getting himself closer and closer to trying to take that spot from the guy Artest can’t name.

-Will.

Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com

On Wednesday, radio host Dan Patrick asked man child/Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard who he’d rather have on his team: LeBron James or Kevin Durant?

Howard answered, “I’m going to go with Kevin,” which members of the basketball community immediately translated to mean: “I think Kevin Durant is better than LeBron James.”

This of course turned everything upside down for 24 hours, upsetting the deck chairs from Pro Sports Daily to PTI, where guest host Bill Simmons chastised Dwight for his decision. Such is the NBA climate on the eve of media day. There’s nothing else to talk about, so a misinterpreted Dwight Howard quote gets play like it’s the damn Constitution of NBA Basketball.

Howard never actually said Durant was a better player – he insinuated it by saying he’d rather have him as a teammate, but he never directly said the words, “Durant is better.” Nevertheless, his comment got me thinking.

Does Durant have more potential than LeBron? Is it possible that he’ll be a better player next season?

Because “better” is a subjective term with more caveats than a Frank McCourt marriage proposal, I won’t say Durant is a better player than LeBron. That would lead me into a field with more landmines than a Jersey Shore cast party. What I will say is that I think Durant will be league MVP next season.

Here are five reasons why:

1. He was considered a legitimate candidate last year

Not only did Durant lead the league in scoring last season with 30.1 points per game (the highest average of his career), he also led the Thunder to 50 wins and their first playoff berth in six years. For his efforts, Durant was rewarded with four first place MVP votes and 609 points overall, putting him second to LeBron (and conspicuously ahead of Kobe Bryant) in the MVP race.

Granted, Durant was never actually close to winning the award – LeBron played out of his Oscar Robertson-loving mind last season – but the idea was palatable enough to voters that they now consider him a player capable of winning the award, which is important because…

2. He made “The Leap” this summer at the FIBA World Championship

Durant is the most recent in a line of NBA players who have made “The Leap” playing international basketball (Charles Barkley in 1992 and LeBron in 2008 are his two most well-known predecessors). In earning tournament MVP and leading Team USA to a gold medal finish (its first in 16 years), Durant proved he is not only a great player but also a great leader.

He addressed his flaws (notably defense and interior scoring) and put the team on his back time after time – most notably in the semifinal game against Lithuania, when he scored a Team USA single game record 38 points. He was Coach K’s ace in the hole, the guy who broke all conceptions about America’s “B-Team” not being able to measure up to international competition. And he did it all with a confidence and grace not often found in a 21-year-old player.

Before the tournament we knew Durant was a great player. Now we know he’s a winner as well, a go-to guy who can be counted on when the game is on the line – as long as Ron Artest isn’t around that is.

3. The Thunder are only going to get better

If Durant made “The Leap” with Team USA, Russell Westbrook made “The Mini Leap.” He may have come off the bench, but Westbrook was the point guard on the Team USA roster who stood out the most. Not only did he get into the lane at will and finish a flurry of ferocious dunks, he also played crunch time minutes when Derrick Rose struggled.

Westbrook’s development, paired with inevitable breakout seasons from James Harden and Serge Ibaka and the defensive potential of rookie center Cole Aldrich, makes the 50-win Thunder even more dangerous than they were last season.

Throw Jeff Green, Thabo Sefolosha and Nick Collison into the mix and you’ve got a team that I think can finish as high as third in West (behind L.A. and Dallas), which of course bodes well for Durant’s MVP chances.

4. LeBron is now Dwyane Wade’s sidekick in Miami

No matter what perspective you look at it from, LeBron significantly lowered his MVP stock by taking his talents to South Beach. In Cleveland, he was The Man. In fact, he was more than The Man. He won two MVP awards there and took them to their first ever Finals appearance. He was a demigod.

In New York, he would have been The Man too. They haven’t had a superstar since Patrick Ewing left. Even in Chicago, with Derrick Rose on board, he would have been The Man.

In Miami, he is not.

In Miami, Dwyane Wade is The Man. He proved it by bringing them a title in 2006 and routinely leading them into the playoffs after Shaq left. The Heat are his team. LeBron is just a sidekick. Granted, he’s a sidekick with a kick ass suit and an arsenal that would make even Mr. and Mrs. Smith blush, but he’s still a sidekick. And MVP voters don’t give awards to sidekicks – just ask Kobe Bryant circa 2002.

LeBron may have put himself in a situation to win multiple championships when he joined the Heat, but he also opened the door for Durant to win multiple MVP awards. If I’m KD, I send him a bottle of Perrier Jouet for every Maurice Podoloff trophy I win.

5. Kobe isn’t a serious contender anymore

I know, I know. I’m going to get heat for this. But it’s true. Last season, Kobe posted his worst PER (21.9) in 10 years and his lowest win share score (9.4) in five. He finished third in MVP voting and received zero (that’s right, zero) first place votes. The year before that, he finished second in MVP voting and received just two first place votes (five fewer than Dwyane Wade).

This is not to say Kobe isn’t still the most feared, most accomplished player in the NBA. He is. It’s more a reflection on the quality of his teammates (Pau Gasol in particular) and the nagging injuries that have bothered him for years.

Granted, he took more time off this summer than he has in years but the fact remains he has over 37,000 minutes on his NBA odometer (not including playoffs and international play) and he’s not the athletic interior presence he once was (which means fewer and fewer high percentage looks).

His will is still strong – make that the strongest. If he set his mind to it, Kobe could terrorize the league every night and put up MVP-type numbers. But he doesn’t want to be that player anymore. He’s learned that he’s better when he subjugates himself for the better of the team. As such, he’s not a serious MVP threat anymore. With him and LeBron out of the way, it’s Durant’s trophy to lose.

And, yes, Vegas oddmakers agree with me.

Patrick Crawley is the sports editor for Neon Tommy and the managing editor of Basketball Fiend.

At 21 years old, Kevin Durant is already the youngest scoring champion in NBA history and is also expected to be Team USA‘s go-to-guy in this year’s 2010 FIBA World Basketball Championship. Although he had one minor cussing on NBA TV moment, he’s mostly done a great job of maintaining a good image.

He’s become a fan favorite by not publicly taking himself too seriously, keeping things light-hearted and staying as humble as possible. Oh yeah, he also scores buckets like crazy. He’s joined in on the craze sweeping the country and apparently the NBA; doing the Dougie. Rookies John Wall and Demarcus Cousins and Glen “Big Baby” Davis of the Boston Celtics have recently strutted their moves on camera.

In a new video interview Durant admits that he knows how to Dougie himself, but says he saves his moves for before the games. He also talks Jay-Z, appearing on Wale‘s mixtape and more.

The worlds of rap and basketball are definitely always overlapping, as evidenced by ballers trying to rap, and even Durant himself making beats. As long as he keeps terrorizing opposing defenses and leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to the playoffs, he can Dougie all he wants.

- Will.

Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com

Kevin Durant led the White team to a 114-96 victory over the Blue team, and took home the MVP award at the 2010 USA Basketball Showcase. Durant scored 28 points hitting 10 of 17 shots and going 6-6 from the free throw line. He makes scoring look easy and defenders look terrible. Especially when they’re trying to stop him from dunking.

Kevin Durant crossover and dunk:

Kevin Durant alley oop dunk:

Check out the latest college football schedule.

Kevin Durant one-handed throw down:

USA Basketball Blue-White Game highlights:

It’s good that the veteran Team USA players aren’t there so the young guys can get a taste but I’d love to see Durant matched up against LeBron, Melo and Kobe. The best need to constantly challenge themselves against the best. Either way, he’s going to be an absolute monster for years to come.

Kevin Durant secured his place as a regular season superstar after becoming the youngest player in NBA history to lead the league in scoring. That’s all good but everybody knows Association legends are made in the postseason. No problem for KD there. His shooting percentage is only 36 percent (down 10 points from his regular season mark) but he’s averaging a double-double through three games at 28 points and 11 rebounds. The Thunder aren’t going to win the series against the Lakers and it doesn’t matter. Durantula and his OKC teammates are getting valuable experience and will be a dangerous team next season.

Durant hasn’t reached his marketing potential yet although I’m betting Nike has a new KD campaign by the end of the summer. He’s appeared in a few spots including an ESPN commercial and Nike’s “Don’t Criticize, Hyperize” video. His most popular ad was his first Nike commercial where he’s shown entering an arena and changing jerseys. I say it’s his most popular because it’s the most imitated by Youtubers.

Below are a bunch of failed attempts to copy Durant’s commercial. This Minnesota Vikings fan wasn’t trying to imitate the spot but he did a damn good job of jersey switching.

Failed Remix 1:

Failed Remix 2:

Failed Remix 3:

Failed Remix 4:

Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder saw his points, rebounds, and assists go up in his second year, and he raised his public awareness with a standout performance in the Rookie-Sophomore game. The Thunder didn’t come close to making the playoffs meaning instead of fishin’, Durant’s in the studio making beats.

I checked out ifeedbeatz.com and there’s not much to it right now.. There’s only one platinum beat as far as I can tell.. I’d rather see a video of KD working on some new aspects to his game, but I know he can’t be hoops only 24/7.

This video is like watching the Kevin Durant Nike commercial (or Al Horford’s spinoff) at high speed after a night of heavy drinking. I wouldn’t be surprised if a few people went into a seizure while watching this clip.

Unfortunately for the video’s creator, Randy Moss is not walking through that door, but at least he has some child-size jerseys to help him remember the good ole days.

Randy Moss, NFL, football, jerseys, youtube, utube, video

I never type soccer here so if I’m mentioning soccer and some English cat I’ve never heard of, you know it’s not good news. Ashley Young, a star striker for England and Aston Villa has an interesting pre-game ritual. This tops anything I’ve ever heard. Forget eating a certain food, or wearing the same underwear, Ashley Young jacks it on webcam.

As he groped himself 22-year-old Aston Villa star Young said: “I’d love to lick ur ****** making them nice and ****…yeh babe, teasing ur ****.”

Ignoring all the rules on handling, he went to huge lengths to show himself off and feverishly bashed out saucy demands like: “I wanna have my **** between ur **** and u ****ing the top of my ****.”

It sounds like it would be made up, but unfortunately, there are pictures to prove that it happened… And it’s not even the first time. He’s on the record for a few pre-game strokes on cam.

Europe is so much more progressive than we are. If Kevin Durant got caught on Adult Friend Finder stroking the j, he’d never live it down. Ashley Young will probably be some kind of hero in Britain.

Ashley Young Web Cam Sex. Courtesy of News of the World

Tags: Ashley Young, Soccer, Webcam, Sex, England, Aston Villa

1. LeBron James
2. Dwayne Wade
3. Kevin Garnett
4. Shaquille O’Neal
5. Kobe Bryant
6. Yao Ming
7. Tony Parker
8. Kevin Durant
9. Yi Jianlian
10. Eduardo Najera

Steve Nash and Gilbert Arenas are the most glaring omissions, and I’ll listen to arguments for AI, Dwight Howard, and Dirk Nowitzki.. Too bad the only time that Tim Duncan talks is when he’s arguing with Joey Crawford, or else he’d be raking in the endorsement money too.

And of course.. If there’s a “Most” list, there can be a “Least” list. Here are my 5 least marketable NBA players:

5. Oleksiy Pecherov, C, Washington Wizards
4. Darius Miles, F, Portland Trailblazers
3. The Knicks, Team, New York Knicks
2. Stephen Jackson, G, Golden St. Warriors
1. Ron Artest, F, Sacramento Kings

Can LeBron surpass Michael on Madison Ave.? Courtesy of MSNBC

Tags: NBA, Most Marketable, Endorsements, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant