By Tyler Hanson
A chant fills the arena, while Russell Westbrook darts down the court. “MVP!” Right as he approaches the hoop, he explodes up in the air and completes a reverse double clutch. The crowd is stunned. Statistically, Russell Westbrook is playing way better than Michael Jordan, one of the greatest basketball players of all time! While there are many other front runners such as James Harden, Russell Westbrook is the better choice for MVP this year. He is the right choice for MVP, because of his domination on the court after Durant’s departure.
Some say that Kevin Durant’s departure from Oklahoma City was an awful thing, but It turned out not to be not the worst thing for OKC fans. Russell Westbrook’s true potential was being overshadowed by Kevin Durant’s dominance on the court. Now that Kevin Durant is gone, Russell Westbrook is finally showing his true potential. Last year, Russell Westbrook scored a total of 1878 points. So far this season he has scored over 2500 points. For Russell Westbrook, when points come, so do other stats like assists and rebounds. This season, Russell is averaging 31.3 points per game, 10.5 rebounds per game, and 10.4 assists per game. With those stats, Russell is averaging a triple double every game. A triple double is when someone gets 10 or more of the same statistics in three categories. So far in the season Russell Westbrook just clinched the most triples doubles in a season by any player in NBA history with a total of 43 triple doubles! Oscar Robertson’s 41 triple doubles use to lead the NBA in this stat. Adding onto the triple double, Russell Westbrook has 43 triple doubles and James harden has 20 triple doubles. Westbrook being able to achieve a triple double almost every game, strengthens my argument that Westbrook deserves MVP over anybody else.
When I was debating whether James Harden or Russell Westbrook deserves MVP, I asked myself one question, “What makes up a true MVP?” A true MVP is someone who is dominant on the court. As Russell Westbrook’s teammate Steven Adams said, “The reason Russell gets so many rebounds is because nobody wants to get in his way when he is crashing the boards.” What that means is that Russell is always going 120% and all the other players aren’t trying as hard as Westbrook. Russell Westbrook always gives the game 120% even if his team is down by 30 points. The “V” in MVP means valuable. If I could choose one word to describe Russell that word would be valuable because he can rebound, pass, and score boatloads of points.
Russell Westbrook is the best candidate for MVP because he can do everything; pass, shoot, and rebound. The importance of Russell Westbrook getting triple doubles is huge for the Thunder because when he doesn’t get a triple double, there is a 54% chance the Thunder loses. Without Russell Westbrook, the Thunder would have almost no chance being a decent team. I think that Russell Westbrook is the most dominant point guard to ever play basketball. For that reason, Russell Westbrook deserves MVP.
Stats were researched on April 9, 2017.
There are still four more games to come and the playoffs.
Sources:
http://www.nba.com/players/russell/westbrook/201566
http://www.foxsports.com/nba/russell-westbrook-player
The Tenacre Tiger Paw 
I thought LeBron James was the best now I am not sure because you make this guy seem amazing.
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I also think that Russ should be M.V.P. It is cool how added what you were thinking and doing throughout the writing process.
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I agree with you in that Westbrook should be MVP. It’s pretty amazing how he can average 31.3 points a game.
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Nice job. I am a James Harden fan, but if Russell Westbrook can average 31.3 points per game, I have to agree with you. I liked how you not only included his stats, but what other teammates thought of him. Good work!
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Amazing article. You really made me think Westbrook deserves MVP. I can’t believe he’s doing better than Michael Jordan!
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