Russell Westbrook put together an unbelievable season in 2016/17. I don’t know where history will rank it, but my guess is that ten, fifteen, or twenty years from now, Westbrook’s 2016/17 campaign will make everyone’s top twenty, maybe even top ten lists.
Obviously, breaking Oscar Robertson’s 50 year old triple-double record was impressive, but in the end, topping the Big O wasn’t the only reason Westbrook took home the league’s MVP honors. Ironically, it was Russell’s detractors that may have led voters to cast their ballot for number “0.” They tore at his 10.7 rebounds average by calling them a product of the Thunder’s system while forgetting that Westbrook was already regarded as one of the best rebounding point guards of all time.