Leading OFF
Westbrook breaks record, gains MVP upper hand
Hours before Friday’s game, after he had finished icing his knees at the morning shootaround, Russell Westbrook was asked for his definition of pro basketball’s highest honor.
“You know what? I’m not sure,” the Oklahoma City Thunder guard said at Talking Stick Resort Arena. “Most Valuable Player — the best player on the best team with the best record? It all depends on how you value it. My job is to go out and play at a high level every night, and if that’s MVP level, then that’s what it is.”
As the regular season was winding down, one of the NBA’s top questions has transitioned to closing arguments. All season, Westbrook and the Houston Rockets’ James Harden have placed themselves atop the MVP conversation. With the postseason starting Saturday, a final Westbrook surge might turn out to be the difference.
When the 6-3 guard ecorded his sixth assist in Friday’s 120-99 loss to the Phoenix Suns, he locked up one of the great statistical milestones in sports, joining Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history to average a triple-double over a full season.
Then Sunday, Westbrook scored 50 points in a 106-105 victory against the Denver Nuggets, including a long, game-winning three-pointer, as part of his 42nd triple-double of the season, breaking Robertson’s once-seemingly unbreakable record.
“Historically, it’s something we might not ever witness again — unless he does it again,” Suns coach Earl Watson said.
Harden isn’t far off, which is why this race has been such riveting theater. Harden has thrived this season in Mike D’Antoni’s open system, averaging 29.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and a leaguebest 11.2 assists per game. Harden had 20 triple-doubles, seven coming while scoring 40-plus points. Not to be overlooked: the Rockets’ improvement from playoff contender to title contender.
“What James Harden has done has been incredible,” Suns veteran Tyson Chandler said. “If they split (the MVP), that would be the best thing that could happen.” But if he had to pick one? “Westbrook,” Chandler said. “In the summer, you lose Kevin Durant, a top-three player in this league, and you still take a team to the playoffs with new personnel, averaging a triple-double? There hasn’t been a game where I’ve been like, ‘Oh, he’s tired,’ or, ‘He looks worn out.’ He’s literally put his team on his back, and it’s been crazy to watch.”
USA TODAY Sports polls NBA writers every week on the MVP award. Harden has led most of the season, but last week Westbrook passed him. The main factor in the leapfrog: Westbrook had a stretch from March 26 to April 2 in which averaged 41 points, 13 rebounds and 11.2 assists per game. In a March 29 win against the Orlando Magic, he posted an amazing 57-13-11 stat line.
Through Sunday, Westbrook was averaging a league-high 31.9 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game.
“Before this last week or two, I think I would’ve given Harden the edge,” Suns veteran Jared Dudley said. “And then you see (Westbrook) had (45) against Memphis. ... People keep saying he’s chasing triple-doubles. I don’t know how you chase triple-doubles and lead the league in scoring? How do you do both?”
One answer: with unmatched energy.
Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan joked that he never walks into the locker room thinking, “Geez, I hope he’s ready to play tonight.”
Likewise, Chandler said he plans to show his son and nephew video of Westbrook over the summer, “just to show them that this is how you’re supposed to approach a game, with this kind of fire and passion.”
Robertson thinks Westbrook is the clear MVP and recently told USA TODAY Sports that the Thunder star is “the triple-double king.” The Hall of Famer said Westbrook’s triple-double numbers show his overall impact on the game beyond his team’s record.
“Knowledgeable basketball people understand that sometimes if you don’t have the right ingredients on your team, if you’re not good inside or you don’t play defense, you may not win a championship,” Robertson said. “But that does not demean what you’ve done as an individual. And I can say this without blinking, that what Russell Westbrook has done truly — even (though) Harden is close to him — he’s got to be the MVP of the league.”
Oklahoma City guard Norris Cole knows an MVP when he sees one. He was with the Miami Heat when LeBron James won the award in 2012 and 2013. He sees similar qualities with Westbrook.
“LeBron brought it every night regardless of how he was feeling,” Norris said. “Same thing with Russ. He brings it at a high level every night. His focus is there. Those are the similarities that I see. Both guys want to win.”
Close MVP races are not uncommon. In 1990, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Magic Johnson beat the Philadelphia 76ers Charles Barkley, even though Barkley had more first-place votes. In 1997, the Utah Jazz’s Karl Malone edged the Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan by 29 overall points. In 2005, Phoenix’s Steve Nash edged Miami’s Shaquille O’Neal by 34.
With a strong Harden finish, this race could be just as close. If that’s the case, Watson — who has known Westbrook since his UCLA days — wonders if the public’s perception of Westbrook, at least the one portrayed by the news media, is to blame. The Oklahoma City guard’s aggressiveness on the court often shapes his image off it. Complicating matters: He doesn’t enjoy the media spotlight.
“Russ might rub a lot of (MVP voters) wrong, but you have to put those personal feelings aside and just talk about basketball,” Watson said. “James is having a great year. You can’t take away what James is doing, but what Russ is doing, to me, it’s not even close.”