Russell Westbrook Top 10 list from historic triple-double season
An incredulous season produced by Russell Westbrook may be remembered as the greatest ever. In reflection of his accomplishment let’s channel David Letterman for a top 10 list.
With the NBA Finals in full motion, triple-doubles continue the narrative Russell Westbrook peppered throughout this season. Stephen Curry and LeBron James each registered triple-doubles in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Notably, James fell one rebound shy of registering back-to-back trip-dubs. At the time it conjured up images of Russell Westbrook flipping through his TV Guide looking for movie trilogies to occupy his time.
Like Westbrook, many OKC Thunder fans aren’t necessarily enjoying these particular NBA Finals. Hence, due to the direction they appear headed and the fresh wounds the Warriors winning could open. Therefore, this top 10 list offers alternative reading material for OKC Thunder fans on a day KD appears to be dominating headlines.
To that end, let’s look back on what will be remembered as possibly the greatest offensive season by an individual in NBA history.
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The amazing season begins :
Inarguably it was a special season for Russell Westbrook. Although the ultra-competitive point guard would rather still be playing, what he accomplished this season will resonate long after he retires.
Let’s not quibble here, the fact Westbrook kept the OKC Thunder relevant was a gargantuan accomplishment. Witnessing a player of Kevin Durant’s ilk walk out the door without compensation was devastating. The fact Sam Presti made moves like trading Serge Ibaka presumably to appease KD certainly made the abandonment sting harsher.
In the wake of the “departure”, OKC was left with a squad ranked among the Association’s youngest without superstars or 3-point specialists. All season, Russell Westbrook was nothing short of spectacular. But, over the final weeks of the season, Westbrook put a special stamp on his outstanding year.
In contrast, his MVP candidate counterparts (while still worthy) weren’t nearly as stunning. James Harden struggled with an untimely wrist injury. LeBron James was busy resting and keeping his team focused on the postseason. And many started wondering if Kawhi Leonard would sneak in to steal the award because of split votes for Harden and Westbrook.
Yet, as award ballots were sent out it became clear how difficult Russell Westbrook has made it to ignore crowning him the 2016-17 MVP. Performances over the full 82-game season will be considered. Yet, just like a movie with a shocking ending the manner in which Westbrook performed over the final month of play arguably provided the greatest accomplishment of his remarkable season.
Channeling David Letterman:
More mature NBA fans will recall late-night talk show host David Letterman. His infamous top ten list was one of the more entertaining staples of his show. With that in mind let’s look at the top ten stats from Russell Westbrook’s amazing record-setting season.