Do or do not. There is no try. The same analogy can be used when it comes to receiving the highest individual acclaim in basketball, the Most Valuable Player of the Year Award. You will only go down in the history books if you are voted first and runner-up’s get lost in the conversation of ‘what if’s’. It seems like every year the talent in the NBA keeps rising and the group of players who can compete for the MVP award has been increasing as well. We now have players like , Anthony Davis, a reigning rookie of the year in Karl-Anthony Towns, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard who are rising stars in this league, already turning heads in the league.
One player that is an odds on favorite to win MVP is Oklahoma City’s remaining superstar, Russell Westbrook. Unlike the younger players mentioned above, Westbrook has always been able to put himself into the conversation of MVP, even when he had his old buddy Kevin Durant around. Now that Durant has made the move to Golden State and all eyes are on the Warriors to achieve championship aspirations and nothing less. The pressure in Oklahoma has fallen into Westbrook’s hands.
A Durant-Less Team
One big factor to Westbrook’s MVP campaign this year will be Kevin Durant or the lack thereof. In 2014, Kevin Durant only played 27 games for the Thunder due to prolonged healing of a fracture in his foot. In that season, Westbrook increased his point average by 7, to 28.1 points a game, while also adding 8 assists, 7 rebounds and 2 steals a game. This year, he’s gotten off to a start that is any fantasy players dream, averaging 31.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 9.5 assists, while also adding 1.4 steals too. Numbers don’t lie, Westbrook will be the ‘be all and end all’ on the offensive end for the Thunder. He’s made that evident even in the 3 games this year since starting their first season as a Durant-less team.
Westbrook isn’t one to shy away from the spotlight and he has shown that even when the Thunder didn’t have Durant due to injuries. The way Westbrook utilizes his athleticism and speed has made him one of the most enjoyable players to watch for fans and for fantasy players around the world. While that makes him a fan favorite to win the MVP award this season because of the constant triple-doubles and 40 point games, it will be a long road to lift the MVP trophy for Westbrook this year.
Numbers Make Superstars, Wins Makes An MVP
With one-half of the dynamic duo headed to Golden State, Oklahoma is now looking for Westbrook to carry the mantle, but it’s going to be a lot harder without Durant around. Although his own individual statistics went up in 2014, the Thunder didn’t make the playoffs that year, which makes us wonder if Westbrook himself would be enough to lead this team to a playoff spot in the tough Western Conference. On average, Durant helps the Thunder win 8 more games than Westbrook does, could this be an indication that Westbrook just can’t do it without Durantula?
That being said, the Thunder will make their run for the Playoffs this year, led by Westbrook and his cast of young Thunder players. He’s shown us that he can distribute the ball, just the other night, he dished out 16 against the Lakers. Although they probably won’t be competing with the top of the Western Conference like Westbrook is used to, in terms of playoff positioning, this team poses a threat even as a lower seed team due to the way they can explode on offense. Even without Durant, the new addition of Victor Oladipo, and the development of Enes Kanter and Steven Adams, makes the Thunder an intriguing team to watch this year.
The New Additions
There hasn’t been one MVP who has got on the podium without thanking his teammates and coaching staff for getting them to where they are, after all, there is no ‘I’ in ‘Team’. Durant himself attributed a lot of his success to his teammates, Westbrook included, when he won the award back in 2013. It really goes to show you how important teammates are in the process of creating an MVP. The main reason for that is plain and simple, it takes a team to win, not just one player. If the Thunder want to create havoc in the West, they will have to rely on their supporting players as well.
The addition of Victor Oladipo will help them with the scoring they will miss from Durant’s absence and help take some of the load off Westbrook’s shoulders. Will Victor can put the ball in the hoop, it will certainly come at a much smaller clip than Durant. That being said, it will be an uphill battle for him to adjust to trying to win on every night rather than dealing with a history of losing like he did in Orlando. The most important components to the Thunder achieving new heights will be the co-operation between Russ and the two big men in the middle, Enes Kanter, and Steven Adams.
Westbrook likes using screens to his advantage and it’s always been helpful that he has a newly re-signed beast in Steven Adams to get them from. On the other hand, Kanter has always been a player who had the offensive talent, but consistency and defense have been lingering issues for him in the past. But Kanter is all-in on the Russell Westbrook mission and he can come off the bench to provide some scoring to relieve Russ. If Adams does continue to develop his offensive game, while Kanter tries to become a more consistent threat, the Thunder could have a chance to do something special in the West. The ‘stache bros’ need to be the first ones to commit to Westbrook as the Thunder’s new leader and set an example for the rest of the squad.
It’s A Competitive Sport
The competition for the MVP award has never been so tight. The way that superstars and all-stars have started this season already, it looks like everyone is gunning for the MVP trophy. Westbrook is part of ‘the usual’ cast of players who have been in the MVP discussion on a yearly basis; current MVP Stephen Curry and his new teammate Kevin Durant, the King of Ohio in LeBron James, Chris Paul and James Harden. Curry & Durant have both stood out in the Warriors first 8 games, putting on impressive scoring nights, including an outing from Curry that put him on the top of the list for most 3-pointers made in a game at 13. Then there’s the NBA champion and King himself, LeBron James, who really needs no argument for why he is a constant contender for the MVP trophy, I mean he already is a 4-time recipient. But nonetheless, James leadership on and off the court, as well as what his value to the Cavaliers team, makes him a contender every year. On the other side of the coast, in Los Angeles, the tock is clicking for the Clippers to make something happen. After an early playoff exit in the first round, thanks to Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers, the Clippers were reminded of a curse both Chris Paul and the Clippers just haven’t been able to break. Chris Paul takes the blame and the pressure for the Clippers by being their vocal leader, ball-handler, and main distributor, and that makes him a contender for MVP every year. Another person who will be highly discussed this year will be James Harden, who was the runner-up for the award last year. With a completely new roster in Houston, James Harden has thrived under Mike D’Antoni’s fast-paced scoring offense, averaging 13 assists through 8 games along with 38 points to top it off. Numbers like that will forever put you in contention for MVP, but for Harden, the most important thing will be how he leads this new cast of players over the course of the season, because as we’ve learned numbers isn’t the only thing that makes an MVP.
Just looking at the contenders above already, Westbrook has his work cut out for him. But just to add to that list, you have to consider the outer contenders as well. Kawhi Leonard, who has been growing into a superstar and MVP candidate, as well as becoming the face of the Spurs future since the retirement of Tim Duncan this offseason. It’s on Leonard now to lead the Spurs back to the promise land, and he’s been letting both his defensive and offensive do the talking. You have Damian Lillard in Portland who led a cast of young and exciting players to Playoff success just last year, upsetting the Clippers in the 1st round. By being a vocal leader on and off the court for them, Lillard has put himself into the MVP discussion as well. The Toronto Raptors have received recent post-season success as a result of their backcourt duo in Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, and they have been seizing that opportunity. DeRozan has been proving himself worthy of his $139 million contract, becoming one of 5 players ever in the NBA to start a season, with 6, 30+ point games. If he continues to keep those numbers up, he would automatically be thrown into contention for MVP. Now these are just some of the contenders right now, but there are plenty of other superstars out there who want to make their claim for the throne of ‘Most Valuable’, like Paul George for the Pacers, or the crafty scoring gaurd in Kyrie Irving. This ever growing list of players on the list goes to show you that the NBA’s talent level right now is through the roof. With superstars making their case for the trophy, it will be difficult for Westbrook to stand out, especially if it doesn’t translate to winning.
It’s a hard truth to swallow. Sometimes the most valuable player on a team isn’t recognized with the NBA MVP award because of public opinion or simply due to the shortcomings of a team’s record. Think about LeBron James and how important he is to the city of Cleveland, and although he’s received all the accolades imaginable, there is still an argument for him being under appreciated. In a small market like Oklahoma, a similar circumstance to LeBron is something to consider for Russell Westbrook as an MVP candidate. Although he may be odds on favorite to win MVP, being in a smaller market will always be a disadvantage for a superstar trying to turn eyes. Westbrook has gotten to a great start of doing that for the Thunder by helping them get a 6-2 start to the season. They are on the right track as of now, but things can change in the NBA faster than any sport, and an 82 game season will be a long and enduring one for Westbrook. The NBA MVP has never been given to a player who hasn’t made the playoffs and it has not be given to one of the top seeds in their respective conference for over thirty years. There is no doubt that the narrative has been written for Westbrook to achieve great things in Oklahoma City, individually. With Kevin Durant assuming the role of the ‘villain in the NBA’ on the Warriors, this makes for Westbrook to be the player everybody, wants to root for.
He’s hungry for it. The NBA season is one that is long and enduring at times. We can never know what to really expect, and for a player like Russell Westbrook, it’s always been that, breaking through expectations. He might be the first to set a new standard in the NBA.
