The Bernstein Brief: Kevin Durant Completes His Validation
By Dan Bernstein--
CBSChicago.com senior columnist
(CBS) Warriors star Kevin Durant is now on the inside of the club looking out, and he knows it, forever redeemed from the long list of great players who toiled without a championship to their name.
We've done this in our escalation of titles beyond all else in assessing what a career has been worth, unfairly adding the "yeah, but..." that diminishes so much individual achievement beyond one's reasonable control. Nevertheless, it's what drives someone like Durant to accept a different kind of challenge.
It's what ended up driving the Warriors to new and greater postseason heights, as their 129-120 victory vanquished the Cavaliers in Game 5 on Monday night. Durant was voted the unanimous finals MVP after scoring at least 30 points in every game and averaging 35.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.6 blocks. His two-way performance in Game 2 will be remembered, as will his scoring of the final seven points in Game 3 that included a late, go-ahead 3-pointer in the face of LeBron James.
Kevin Durant accomplished exactly what he set out to do and proved to be the best player on the best team.
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Bernstein and Goff Show" in afternoon drive. You can follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.