NBA MVP Ladder & Votes 2014: Bye LeBron! Kevin Durant Stellar Performance May Win Him Award; James Agrees

It's near the half way mark of the NBA season and the chants for MVP are growing louder. In a report from CBS Sports, Kevin Durant is said to be the hands-down winner of the regular season award. He is, after all, averaging 31.3 points, nearly 8 rebounds, about 5 assists, all while shooting 51% from the floor while at 41% from the three-point area. He is also 88% from the free throw line. 

The reigning MVP, Miami Heat forward LeBron James, had praised the recent clutch performances of Durant. This January 2014, according to a report from USA Today, Durant had averaged nearly 37 points per game, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists to go with it.

James even noted that, "What he's been doing of late is outstanding; it's great. He's in a groove. And when you're in a zone like he's in, it (doesn't) matter how much film you watch (as an opponent), you just try to make it tough for him. He's going to make shots. He's going to make contested shots when you're playing great defense on him."

The four-time MVP winner added, "Individually, he can't be stopped by any one player. There's nobody that can guard him one on one... Even in his short career, he's one of the greatest scorers in our game."

This MVP talk comes to head when the Thunder visits Miami Wednesday night, according to a report from MSN Fox Sports. He is tabbed to be the main defender against the scoring machine known as 'KD'. To this he said, "Oh yeah, it's a challenge it's not secondary, it's first dary."

He added, "Absolutely, he is one of the toughest coverages. It's between him and (Carmelo Anthony) for me individually. It's a game within a game. You want to win, but you also want to try to do your part in who you're going against."