OKC’s Westbrook proving he is MVP candidate, great teammate

Russell Westbrook has seemingly been a one-man wrecking crew, stacking up tripledoubles like no one in half a century and producing late in games like few players in recent memory.

But the historical stats and heroics have somewhat overshadowed one other Westbrook transformation: The national perception he wasn’t a good teammate.

He’s been that, and then some.

“He’s making big plays,” Thunder forward Enes Kanter said. “That’s what a big player does. He’s taking a lot of responsibility and doing amazing things. And he’s making everybody better around him.”

There were questions Westbrook the teammate when about Kevin Durant left for Golden State in free agency last summer. Then the huge questions about what kind of team would the Thunder have with Westbrook as their unquestioned leader.

Well, he has seized the moment.

He has taken his game to another level and pulled his teammates along. Whatever the team has needed — a big shot, a scoring flurry, a key pass, a defensive play — he has delivered. Even without Durant to pass the ball to — a four-time scoring champion — Westbrook is at the same pace for assists as last year.

“As a team, we all do our part,” Westbrook said. “It’s not just me. I’m not just playing by myself. These guys do a lot of different things, whether they are screening or making big shots, defensive plays that allow us to get shots that we’ve been getting to close games. They’ve been doing it all season.”

But it’s impossible to ignore what Westbrook has done.

He needs one more triple-double to match Oscar Robertson’s single-season record of 41 set during the 1961-62 season. He’ll have the chance to tie Tuesday at home against Milwaukee, and he could potentially set a new mark Wednesday in Memphis.

Oklahoma City has needed every bit of Westbrook’s excellence.