He's the most athletic player in the league, a triple-double machine, one of the best point guards in the league, he's Russell Westbrook, but he's not the 2017 MVP. Westbrook has been playing phenomenal in the league recording triple-doubles and being one of the hardest players to guard, as well as a dominant defender. Ever since Former OKC Star Kevin Durant has left, people have started to believe the OKC star will shine as the face of the team and win MVP. He is even given a 2-1 odds at winning MVP according to Bovada's MVP odds for the 16-17 season, but history is against this MVP candidate's favor.
Westbrook has been putting up insane numbers in games no doubt, even managing to notch 18 triple-doubles to tie him with Hall of Famer Magic Johnson for the most triple-doubles ever recorded during a single regular season. Westbrook has even been averaging a near triple-double with 23.5 points 10,4 assists and 7.8 rebounds We haven't seen a player average a triple-double since Oscar Robertson, the only player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season, with 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 11.4 assists. A player like that is certainly capable of winning MVP, right?
First off, Westbrook is an MVP candidate hands down; With Durant leaving the team it only increases his chances of winning MVP. When the NBA chooses MVP, they look for a player with a story, leading one of the best teams in the conference or league. An example of that is LeBron James being drafted to his hometown, the Cleveland Cavaliers, improving his team's record year after year, and bringing them to the NBA Finals even in 2008. In 2009 and 2010, LeBron James won back to back MVP's after improving his team to the best record in the eastern conference twice. LeBron James decided to leave to Miami Heat in the off-season and despite LeBron James beating Derrick Rose in points per game, field goal shooting, three-point shooting, rebounds, steals and blocks, Derrick Rose won the MVP in 2011 and the Chicago Bulls finished first in the eastern conference.
The reason why people believe LeBron James didn't win MVP is because he left his hometown team to join a team of superstars, i.e. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The NBA also isn't keen on giving 3 MVP's in a row to a single player, the last person to win 3 consecutive MVP's was Larry Bird in 1986. So that also takes out Stephen Curry out of the equation, but how does this affect Westbrook? Let's take a look at some of the past MVP winners and where their team finished.
The list excludes 2 time MVP Stephen Curry, which Golden State Warriors finished 1st both season.
Based on history, MVP's have been on a team that is a 1st or 2nd seed, Westbrook played without Durant due to injuries in 2015 and OKC Thunder finished 9th with a record of 45-37. However, since then, OKC has improved its roster and the OKC guard is getting better as well. OKC will finish better than 9th in the Western Conference, but the Western Conference is too tough with teams like the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Clippers filled with stars and talent all competing for titles. Westbrook alone cannot lead his team to a 1st or 2nd seed and the last player to win it on a 6th seed team was Moses Malone in 1982.
So to conclude, 2017 most favored MVP fits some of the roles of what the NBA looks for in a player. Westbrook has the story, the dynamic duo of OKC breaking up and the OKC guard stays loyal for another three years making him a fan favorite, He has the skills averaging a near triple-double and is capable of improving without Kevin Durant, but he doesn't have the team capability to finish a 1st or 2nd seed finish. Russell Westbrook is definitely capable of being an MVP, and will have an MVP-caliber season, but history is against him and he'll need to do the impossible to make OKC a top-tier team before he can be called the NBA's most valuable player.
