Russell Westbrook in his MVP campaign is doing what nobody has done since Oscar Robertson has done before and has the Thunder primed to make the playoffs.
To a millennial hearing what Oscar Robertson did that 1961-62 season is a tale of legends. Seeing somebody do it about 50 years later is nothing short of marvelous.
That being said, it would almost be a travesty if Russell Westbrook doesn’t win the 2016-17 MVP Award.
When Kevin Durant left, this team was not expected to make the playoffs. The Thunder are not only about to clinch a playoff spot, they are about to be the sixth seed. If you told the experts that before the season, they might have looked at you crazy.
These facts above only exemplify the greatness of Westbrook. The Most Valuable Player award goes to the player that affected their team the most. In other words, if the team did not have that player, they would not be where they are now.
That is the definition of this Oklahoma City Thunder team. That is the definition of Westbrook this season.
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Oscar Robertson got his triple-double easily if you compare it to Westbrook’s go-around this season. The “Big O” averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists per game. Westbrook is averaging 31.8 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game.
Both players averaged a triple-double with 30 points or more, which makes the feat even greater.
Westbrook got the six assists he needed against the Phoenix Suns on Friday to seal the second triple-double average for the season in NBA history.
Now he just needs to get the record for the most triple-doubles in a season.
He missed that mark on Wednesday when he was one rebound short of breaking Robertson’s record against the Grizzlies. On Friday he missed it by just two assists against the Suns.
Westbrook took heat from Tyler Ulis when Ulis said it seemed like he was pushing to get the record. Ulis said Westbrook was passing up open shots to force his way to 10 assists.
Suns PG Tyler Ulis on Russell Westbrook hunting for assists late to get a triple-double:... https://t.co/QOHfzLqXJR pic.twitter.com/NhjcHhJLfn
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 8, 2017
Westbrook was in the game in a blowout with less than two minutes left. If Ulis is right, then that means Westbrook really wants to break this record.
Westbrook has 41 triple-doubles this season and Robertson had 41 when he played in his second season with the Cincinnati Royals.
With 41 triple-doubles, that means that Westbrook has had a triple-double for every other game this season. With as many games as NBA players play during the season and with back-to-backs it is hard to be that consistent game in and game out.
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The NBA has to reward Westbrook not only because it is the right thing to do, but because of the fact that they missed it the first time with Oscar Robertson back when he did it first.
No player has been better than Westbrook this season and no other player has been more valuable to his team than Westbrook. This Thunder team would not be where it is today without having Westbrook.
Westbrook has gotten respect from all the legends that have played the game from Allen Iverson, Robertson himself (he has called him the triple-double king), and Kobe Bryant.
All of these players like him so much because he reminds them of what they were in their prime. They put their hearts out on the court and left it all out on the floor every night.
ESPN‘s 99.9 percent probability prediction was accurate and Westbrook has done it. This makes him a bonafide superstar and will make him one of the most dominant players to ever play the game.
When a player does the impossible it should be rewarded no matter his team’s playoff ranking. If that was not the case, Stephen Curry should win it again because the Golden State Warriors have the best record in the league. But anyone with a working set of eyes knows that Westbrook had a better season than Curry.
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Westbrook should be a lock to win the MVP Award once he adds another achievement to his collection by passing Oscar Robertson, and there is no doubt about it.