Holy Russell Above — UCLA’s Russell Westbrook gobbles up the NBA MVP Award with 69 votes, compared to 22 for Harden, 9 for Leonard, and only 1 for LeBron
Even if your team is not elite, if you AVERAGE a triple-double, you deserve the League MVP. That’s exactly what the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook did, and on Monday night, he won the Most Valuable Player Award in a landslide.
The Thunder won only 47 games, but they DID make the Playoffs, as Westbrook averaged over 31 points, 10 Rebounds, and 10 Assists per game. He also snagged 1.6 Steals a game, proving that he was a force on both ends of the court, with an unparalleled energy that never sees him take a possession off, like lots of other guys do (Swaggy P.).
RW becomes the first player in 36 years to win the MVP while playing on a team that won less than 50 games. The last one was Moses Malone in 1981. Westbrook earned the honor by amassing 42 triple-doubles, the MOST EVER in NBA History. Russell was only the second player in history to average a triple-double, and the first in 55 years to do it. The only other player to accomplish this insane feat is Oscar Robertson in 1962.
While Russell showed an amazing all-around game, he also took over the scoring when he needed to — for the Durant-less Thunder — scoring over FIFTY in THREE of his triple-double games. He hit a high of 57 in a triple-double against Orlando, and 54 in the game where he got his record 42nd triple-double.
Not only did Westbrook stuff the stat sheet night in and night out, but he was also the best player in the league IN CRUNCH TIME. And no, this isn’t just me being biased and subjective; This is STAT-BASED. Russell led the League in “clutch time scoring” by a WIDE MARGIN. That’s the last five minutes of games where the lead/deficit is 5 points or less. Russell was additionally honored BY FANS, for “Best Game Winner” with his spectacular clutch effort in a game against Denver: Down by two with 3 seconds left, Westbrook heaved up a desperation 35-footer at the buzzer and sank it, for his 48th, 49th, and 50th points of the game and the improbably victory.
As if those two trophies weren’t enough, Westbrook also received the “Best Style” Award, which I assume considers his fancy threads, bling, endorsements, and off-the-court swagger, probably more than how well he comports himself on the court. He plays great, and he looks great! What a fantastic rep of UCLA.
And Russell wasn’t the only Bruin to be honored at this event. Bruin Bob Myers won GM of the Year, for the job he has done with Golden State’s roster. His acquisition of Kevin Durant led directly to the NBA Championship.
What a week for Los Angeles Bruin Basketball fans: Lonzo goes to the Lakers, and Westbrook goes into the books as the most valuable player on the planet, with 69 of 101 votes, while James Harden got only 22, Kawhi Leonard tallied 9, and LeBron James notched only 1.