Russell Westbrook should have won the 2021 NBA MVP

I thought Russell Westbrook deserved the 2017 NBA MVP. His singular ability elevated the Thunder to respectability despite a limited supporting cast. He took on a massive offensive role, ripping through tight spaces to create relatively effective shots for himself and others. This allowed Oklahoma City to play better defenders around him. His clutch play was phenomenal, turning many games in favor of the Thunder.

Missing from this explanation: triple-double.

Of course, triple doubles dominated the narrative of Westbrook’s successful MVP campaign (with the Oklahoma City frontman without Kevin Durant). Westbrook joined Oscar Robertson (1961-62) as the only players to average a triple-double in a season. It was a tremendous achievement.

But triple doubles were also an overly simplistic and arbitrary way of defining Westbrook’s contributions in 2016-17. That’s why I had no problem getting around Westbrook for major honors even though he averaged a triple-double three of the next four seasons. Last season – when he broke Robertson’s career triple-double record – Westbrook averaged a triple-double… but didn’t even make an All-NBA or All-Star team.

Which upset Robertson.

Robertson, via Mike DePrisco of NBC Sports Washington:

“I watch Westbrook, and he got triple doubles this year and nobody even noticed, they didn’t think it was that bad,” Robertson said on The Knuckleheads podcast. “I think it’s totally unfair. I think he should have won [MVP] again. If he [averaged] another triple-double, and he didn’t win [MVP], so why keep statistics?

“Why keep statistics if it’s not just giving the MVP to the player who has averaged a triple-double?” Is certainly a catch.

Yes, Westbrook has normalized the once-special triple-double season average. To some extent, Westbrook shouldn’t suffer from his ability to make the extraordinary ordinary.

But triple doubles never told the whole story. The problem is, the people who exaggerated this statistical benchmark in the first place.

Westbrook’s firing efficiency dropped dramatically. Its defensive efficiency too. He’s working harder to chase triple doubles. The NBA style of play makes it easy to accumulate stats.

Simply, Westbrook is not as good as it was in 2017.

This should be obvious to someone who knows basketball as well as Robertson.

Maybe he wants to improve his own legacy with a focus on triple doubles. Maybe he’s one of those people who relies on stats rather than games.

But Robertson is far from the base here.