Kevin Durant May Be Having A Better Rookie Year Than You Know Who

That's right. We said it. Recently we've been seeing an increase in criticisms of our favorite rookie, which we'd like to try to put to rest. To begin with, let's remember that he is a rookie on one of the NBA's youngest and worst teams. Moreover, he's pretty much the only scoring option, with only Chris Wilcox averaging double digits now that Wally's World is in Cleveland. So what kind of rookie year is KD having? For starters check out the table below.

Player 1 is Kevin Durant. Player 2 is, somewhat surprisingly, Lebron James during his rookie year. The numbers are very similar in field goal and three point percentage (where KD has been getting a lot of criticism). KD holds a slight edge in blocks, fouls and free throw percentage, and Lebron holding the slight edge in the rest.

Still not convinced that KD's rookie year is comparable to Lebron's? Take a look at each player's averages per 48 minutes.

When you look at it this way, Kevin actually is averaging more points per 48 than Lebron did his rookie year. You should also consider that Lebron's team in 03-04 had 4 other players averaging double-digits in points, won 35 games (the Sonics are on pace for 22), and did not have to deal with all of the shenanigans that the Sonics are currently dealing with.

Putting all of that together with the fact that KD's numbers have been gradually improving over the course of the season, we don't think it's all that crazy to say Kevin Durant is putting together a relatively solid rookie year.

The point is not to argue that KD is destined to become the next greatest player in the NBA (he will, but that's not the point) as only time will tell if he develops his game to be as complete as King James'. We are saying, however, that it's time to back the hell off KD and give him his damn rookie-of-the-year award already.