Thank you, Russell Westbrook; a trip down memory lane
By Rylan Stiles
Russell Westbrook puts on a show and gives the Thunder fanbase their best season.
The OKC Thunder has won a Western Conference Championship, they have made countless other Conference Finals, and played in the NBA Finals.
OKC had experienced 50 win seasons, 60 win seasons, scoring champions, All-Stars, an MVP in Kevin Durant all in just a few seasons. Some of those milestones, fans who root for a team that has been around 20 plus years are still waiting on.
But while those seasons were extremely fun, and important, and exciting, this season meant more.
Russell Westbrook was alone. No Kevin Durant, no James Harden, no Serge Ibaka, the only remaining vestige of the first wave of Thunder players was Nick Collison.
Russell Westbrook’s MVP season was not valued enough. Even if you watched all 82 games plus the playoffs, as I did, nothing was enough to appreciate how spectacular Westbrook was during the course of his Most Valuable Player season.
A season in which he became the second player ever in NBA history to record a triple-double as a season average.
Russell Westbrook poured in 31 points per game, ten rebounds, and almost 11 assists. The point guard enjoyed his best percentage from beyond the arc stroking the 3-pointer at a 34 percent clip.
The Brodie wasted no time showing off his new attitude and recorded a triple-double on the second game of the year, against the Suns. He delivered a jaw-dropping 51 points, ten assists, and 13 rebounds in that game.
The Thunder started out on a four-game winning streak knocking off the 76ers, Suns, Clippers, and Lakers seeing Russ turn in a pair of triple-doubles on the way.
Oklahoma City’s first loss of the season came at the hands of the Warriors.
The Thunder went 0-4 against Golden State but it did provide a special moment for Thunder fans between their new hero, and villain.
After Russell Westbrook tossed a dime to Victor Olidipo who drilled a 3-pointer, the Warriors called a timeout. Russell Westbrook began to jaw at former teammate Kevin Durant, Russ exclaimed: “I’m Coming.” over and over to Kevin Durant.
At the time, the Thunder were trailing big in the third quarter, but Russ was doing that as a sign that he will never back down from the super team.
What we did not know at the time, was that Russell Westbrook and the organization was, in fact, coming for the Warriors.
This season was the best season of Russ’ career in a lot of respects. But take the time to watch that amazingly done mixtape package above, and realize just how amazing his passing ability was that year.
His MVP season deserves an entire long-form article of its own, or two, or three.
I think my favorite moment from that historic season was this shot against the Denver Nuggets.
This triple-double broke the season record for most triple-doubles in a single season, allowed him to average a triple-double for the year, and knocked the Nuggets out of playoff contention.
Russell Westbrook won the 2017 MVP award, and Oklahoma City delivered their second MVP player. This one, even more special than the first.
However, the OKC Thunder were in for another shakeup.