Kevin Durant claims first MVP with 119 first-place votes

Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder is the winner of the Maurice Podoloff Trophy as the 2013-14 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, the NBA announced today.

It is the first MVP award for Durant, who captured his fourth scoring title in five seasons, joining Wilt Chamberlain, George Gervin and Michael Jordan as the only players to accomplish this feat.

Despite teammate Russell Westbrook appearing in only 46 games, Durant guided the Thunder to the NBA's second-best record at 59-23.

Durant totaled 1,232 points, including 119 first-place votes, from a panel of 124 voters that consisted of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada as well as an NBA.com MVP fan vote, making for 125 total ballots.

Rounding out the top five in voting are Miami's LeBron James (891 points, six first-place votes), the Los Angeles Clippers' Blake Griffin (434 points), the Chicago Bulls' Joakim Noah (322 points), and the Houston Rockets' James Harden (85 points).