Loud Links: 02|01|10

NBA.com: Chris Bosh, Kevin Durant named Players of the Week
The Toronto Raptors' Chris Bosh and Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Jan. 25-31.

Bosh finished the week as the league leader in rebounds (16.0 rpg) and ranked fifth among leaders in scoring (25.7 ppg.), while guiding the Raptors to a 3-0 week. He had a double-double in each game and became the first player in franchise history to record at least 20 points and 15 rebounds in three consecutive games. Against the Indiana Pacers, he posted 26 points, 15 rebounds and a season-high seven assists.

Durant, who led the NBA in scoring (34.3 ppg) for the week, helped the Thunder to a 2-1 week with wins over two Western Conference opponents. He paired a season-high 45 points with 11 rebounds against Golden State on Jan. 31, for his second double-double of the week. In the game, he made a season-high 16 field goals and shot .762 (16-21) from the field.

Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant is worthy of selection as an All-Star Game reserve - ESPN Dallas
Humble, affable and accessible, Durant, a movie buff who likes to send messages from his Twitter account, is the unequivocal face of the Thunder. He is racing toward superstardom and has entered the conversation with James, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade as the game's transcendent stars.

Durant is a sinewy mixture of a power forward's height, a small forward's agility and a shooting guard's touch, with the added bonus of effortless ballhandling that allows him, on a growing number of occasions, to bring it up and set up the offense.

"He's very unique when it comes to his skill set and his size," versatile Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom said. "I watch him play; it's really scary. When his body matures and he's able to play minutes at the big forward position, when he's able to defend that position, that's when you might see some remarkable things happen just besides scoring the basketball. You're going to see his assists go up because he'll start catching the ball in different positions and things like that."

Durant scores 45 pts, misses just five shots | NBC Sports
Kevin Durant scored a season-high 45 points on Sunday, missing only five shots combined from both the field and the foul line (16-of-21 FGs, 11-of-11 FTs) with 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two 3-pointers.

At 21 years old, it's possible that there's not enough buzz for Durant, whose 29.6 ppg passed LeBron James (29.4) on the scoring list to sit in second place behind Carmelo Anthony (29.7). In the past his weakness has been his FG%, yet he finished the month of January shooting over 50% from both the field and from 3-point range.

Kevin Durant By The Numbers - SportsCenter.com
Thunder F Kevin Durant had a night for the ages Sunday. The 22-year-old All Star seemingly couldn't miss a shot. Backed by that tremendous performance, he has rapidly become one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA. Let's go inside the numbers from Durant's dominating display...

76.2 - Kevin Durant shot 16 of 21 from the field yesterday for a percentage of 76.2. That is the best shooting performance in a 40-point game in the NBA this season...

11 - Durant posted 11 games with at least 30 points in the month of January, tied for the second most such games in the last 20 seasons behind only Kobe Bryant's 12 30-point games in January of 2006...

8 - Durant has now posted eight 40-point games in his career... That is already tied for the second-most in franchise history... The only player with more is Dale Ellis with 14, but of course Durant is in just his 3rd season...

2 - Durant is now 2nd in the NBA in scoring this season averaging 29.6 point per game. He trails Carmelo Anthony by one-tenth of a point for the lead. Durant averaged 32.1 points per game in January.

Thunder Forecast: OKC Will Soon Be the Third All-Star Team in the NBA | Bleacher Report
In the next three to four years, the Oklahoma City Thunder will soon have a starting line up made up of All-Stars. You might not want to admit it based off pride for your own team, but you know I'm right.