It was a lovely spring basketball evening in Oklahoma City. Far removed from July 4th and what at the time seemed like the end of the world for Thunder basketball fans like myself. I’d almost have to describe it as surreal.
Russell Westbrook garnered his 41st triple double of the season on a workmanlike 12 point, 13 rebound, 13 assist night. It was a game in which he didn’t have to work all that hard as his teammates showed up in droves and gave him the help he needs on a more consistent basis for this team to take their game to the next level. It was fitting on this historic night the Thunder played their best game since winning in Toronto on March 16th, and perhaps played one of their better games of the entire season by torching the Milwaukee Bucks 110-79.
We’ve seen him grow up in Oklahoma City. Sam Presti took a chance on him and what we’ve seen is a young player develop into one of the best of this generation and beyond as he only needs one more triple double to break Oscar’s record and have it as his own. He needs 16 assists in these last five games to average a triple double for the entire season. When Kobe gave him the moniker Bad Little Dude he knew exactly what he was talking about.
OKC improved to 44-33 on the season on this glorious night. When Bad Little Dude has tripled doubled the Thunder are 32-9, when he hasn’t the Thunder are 12-24. MVP, MVP…..duh.
This Thunder team is the third youngest in the entire NBA and if they win three of their last five games they’ll end up 47-35. For this Thunder team to win anything close to fifty games is a testament to why Russell Westbrook should be this season’s MVP.
Keep this in mind, in the Thunder’s first season in Oklahoma City these young guys were on the roster…Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, a young Nick Collison, Nenad and others, and you know what their record was…23-59.
What I’m saying here is that other than Russell Westbrook there has been no other constant variable for the Thunder this basketball season. Oladipo has been injured twice. Adams has had some issues offensively. Kanter decided to break his own arm. Andre Roberson still has a broken shot. Young guys like Abrines, Sabonis, Grant, and Christon have gone poof into the night in multiple NBA arenas not located in Bricktown…and sometimes even at home.
But through it all, Russell Westbrook has kept his composure, led this team, and in the process set NBA history. MVP means just that — Most Valuable Player. Who’s the most valuable player to the their respective team is the question. My take is very simple…it’s Russell Westbrook at No. 1 and James Harden at No. 2 because Harden has a much better supporting cast around him which has been taylor crafted by his GM to fit Harden’s specific skill set. Imagine for a second if Russell had Trevor Ariza as his three, or Ryan Anderson as his stretch four, or of all things Patrick Beverly as his back up point guard…imagine all those three things and tell me you don’t think this team would have had a few more wins.
But you know what, I’ve never heard Westbrook bitch about any of that publicly. He’s hung with the hand which he was dealt and made this team respectable…and that’s why he easily has my MVP vote.
Congrats to Russell Westbrook and thanks for a season I’ll never forget.
I love the ladies with the triple double stat lines in the stands. It was fitting. I have to be honest, there was a collective lump in the throat of Thunder Nation on the tenth assist.