Kobe Bryant might have to drop 50 points in Sacramento to win the scoring title from Kevin Durant, but something tells me he’s going to do it.

I want Kobe Bryant to win the scoring title from Kevin Durant.

Both players are two-time NBA scoring champions.  Durant is averaging 27.97 points per game while Bryant comes in right behind him at 27.86.  Both teams have just one remaining game that will decide the 2012 scoring king.  The Thunder take on the Nuggets at home tonight while the Lakers play the Kings in Sacramento tomorrow night.

Bryant does have the advantage of seeing what kind of numbers Durant puts up tonight and will know exactly how many points he needs to slay Sacramento for tomorrow.  If Durant doesn’t play, Kobe would still need to drop 35 to pass him.  I just have a feeling that Bryant can give the Kings how ever many buckets it takes to bring home to crown, even if it has to be a 50-piece.

I want Kobe to win the scoring title because I want there to be something like this that really signifies how dominant he was as a veteran player of 33.  I feel like he should have several NBA MVP awards to his credit, but only has one.  I’m surprised he’s only won two scoring titles in his career.  The thing that makes me root for Bryant is his ultra competitive demeanor.  He’s not ready to concede that he isn’t the best basketball player on the planet and while his athletic ability has clearly decline, he continues to score a lot of points and win games.

If Kevin Durant wins the title, he will be the first player since the Michael Jordan in the 90′s to win three in a row.  I love Durant and I think he’s a brilliant scorer, but that’s a little too much so soon.  He’s a great player, but there’s just something that tells me I want to see Bryant win it and still be able to claim that he’s the best scorer in the game at his age.  Maybe part of my bias towards Kobe in this instance stems from the fact that I want and believe that Carmelo Anthony is the best scorer at the three spot in basketball, not Kevin Durant.

Either way it goes, the award doesn’t mean much more than bragging rights and stuff for the media and fans to talk about.  The real award is winning in the playoffs and both players have teams capable of doing that.   If they meet up, I like the Thunder to beat L.A., they are just too young, talented, and hungry.  So knowing that, Kobe go out and get that scoring title and put your stamp on the 2012 NBA season as the best scorer to do it, even though it might not have came in the most efficient way.

Few players ever have given this many years of effort, fought through every injury, and still was able to perform at a high level as they got older like Bryant.  I really just want to see him rewarded for all the work he’s put in over the years and how great he was and the scoring title would do just that.