I looked at the list and nothing jumped out at me

not playing the season after he was drafted. And Oden/Rudy will tie and both fit the criteria.

I WAS COMBING MY HAIR!

Especially since, with the vote coming before the playoffs,
Horford’s good playoff showing isn’t a factor.

i disagree completely.

good players look better and play better when surrounded by talent. look at kobe with gasol. look at chandler with paul. look at pierce with garnett. on a veteran team he would have a defined role, help from his teammates showing him the way, clear expectations of what he is supposed to do, and players he can rely on to help him. he had none of that and a coach who didn’t seem to care all that much: succeeding in those circumstances deserves recognition.

KD held up way better than B Roy during his rookie season, did so at a much younger age, with inferior teammates (as mentioned), and had to handle things as the go-to option instead of 2nd fiddle to zbo. despite all the knocks on kd’s toughness, he put up similar rebounding numbers to brandon and averaged both a block and a steal a game. brandon had more assists/game and he is a better passer than KD but he also had zbo. overall, for playing in 80 games, at 19 years old, putting up the numbers he did in the situation he did and with the teammates he did, i give that one to KD.

horford didn’t have any pressure on him and would not have been capable of doing the things KD if he were the first option. he was the third or fourth option on the Hawks, they play in a much weaker conference against inferior competition. no one is game-planning around Al Horford. he was a very good role-player and a true asset, but not nearly as impressive as KD.

the 2s and 3s in the western conference cannot be compared to the 4s in the eastern conference when it comes to overall skill level. durant was dealing with better players and better teams every night and he still got his.

put it this way: take kd and horford away from their teams and you might as well move the sonics into the d league; the hawks are still in playoff contention in the east.

there are areas for improvement (3 point percentage, offensive rebounding, passing) but the man is 19. nitpick all you want but he had better pro seasons at 19 than all but a few NBAers… brandon, al, and most everyone else was way behind his curve at 19. he hit game winners with the defense keying on him at 19 years old. how many people can say they did that? not jordan. not carter.

mcgrady’s struggles are his alone and don’t belong in this discussion either.