PHOENIX — Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant has been the definition of clutch this season, and there’s numbers to prove it.

Time after time it feels like Durant has drained a game-sealing bucket for the Suns during their 8-1 start, tying a franchise record. His 35 points in clutch time (shots made when the game is within five points in the last five minutes) leads the NBA.

Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein offered some strong praise for Durant in a recent interview with Arizona Sports.

“What he’s doing is just ridiculous,” Bartelstein said on Durant.

“I think it goes to optimizing our team … from bringing in Bud, to the guys around our roster from Tyus (Jones) to Monte (Morris), to re-signing Royce (O’Neale) and Grayson (Allen), the draft picks, how we put KD in the best position to be as dominant as he is.

“That’s (about) where he’s getting the ball on the court, the actions we’re running for him so there’s not as much stress where he’s catching it. Also defensively — he’s been great defensively — but not having to guard the best guys every night.”

Durant’s currently top ten in scoring with 27.6 points per night and has flashed some of his best basketball to date in a Suns uniform.

He’s the MVP frontrunner according to ESPN NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins:

“Yes, the Phoenix Suns are the second-best team right now, right behind the Oklahoma City Thunder. And it’s inches, just by inches. The main reason is the play of Kevin Durant, who I think right now should be the MVP frontrunner,” said Perkins.

“He’s tied right now for first place for clutch buckets with [Nikola] Jokic. When it comes down to KD, a happy KD is a dangerous KD. 10/15 from the field in the fourth quarter. 29 points. … If you’re going to get this version of Kevin Durant, he can be the best player – any series, against any superstar in the league.”

Durant has been a massive proponent of Phoenix’s strong start under new coach Mike Budenholzer – even if they’ve had to squeeze through some tough outings in order to leave with a win:

“We stay poised. We don’t let it rattle us. Guys aren’t panicking on the bench. Coaches aren’t getting up screaming or upset. I think we just try to focus on how to be good the next possession and move from there,” Durant said earlier this week.

“Coach called the timeout a couple times when they made some runs, we scored out of those timeouts, and also got the stop. That’s usually the key. So, just staying poised and understand every moment that we can learn from.”

When it comes to big moments, Durant’s still one of the league’s best.

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