Kevin Durant's Wait is Over

After Kevin Durant won MVP of the Rookie Challenge, Craig Sager asked him if he should be playing on Sunday. Durant, gracious as always, replied he'd wait his turn. K.D., dude ... your wait is over.

Durant scored 46 points, breaking the record by 10. He had a littany of extraordinary moves, leaving teammate (and trash-talker) Russell Westbrook in a cloud of dust time after time. He even played a little defense to help the sophs pull out a victory, ignoring the legend that playing defense in the Rookie Challenge is like walking under a ladder. And as many have noted in the aftermath, Durant has been doing this since New Year's Day. No one in the league is scoring more per game since January 1. K.D. is doing it efficiently, with an inventory of rebounds, blocks, steals and assists, as well.

That Durant sits on the sidelines while someone like David West (a solid player, but a winner) made the Main Event ... that says more about the coaches than it does Durant. There is an unfortunate pecking order, with youth and losing pushing stars like K.D. and Al Jefferson (R.I.P.) down the list. But Durant started a fire Friday, I suspect he'll stoke it tonight during H-O-R-S-E, and the whole world will see the smoke next February.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.