Kevin Durant has grown increasingly bitter over the past couple of years and his choir boy image doesn’t seem as strong as it once was.
During all-star weekend in New York, Durant told an assembled group of reporters that he doesn’t feel the media should have a say in votes such as the MVP. His argument is that players know best since they’re actually on the floor.
On its face, that makes all the sense in the world, but the media probably sees more teams more often than the players do. Durant’s Thunder may only play an Eastern Conference team twice this year, while beat reporters can see that team way more often.
In any event, Durant is getting what he’s asking for to a degree. The Player’s Union has announced that they will hand out awards that will be exclusively voted on by the players.
Nearly three months after the Oklahoma City Thunder star voiced his opinion that NBA players should vote on the league’s regular season awards instead of the media, first-year National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts issued an internal memo announcing the “2015 Players Choice Awards.”
The memo, which was obtained by USA TODAY Sports, stated that anonymous votes will be cast and the winners will be announced at a summer meeting in Las Vegas. The media has voted on NBA awards since the 1980-81 season.
“This program was created at your request to recognize outstanding performance of your peers, on and off the court,” Roberts wrote. “No one knows better than you what it takes to shine.”
H/T: USA Today
