OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) A year ago, uncertainty surrounded Russell Westbrook.
Kevin Durant stunned the league by leaving Oklahoma City for rival Golden State in free agency. The four-time scoring champion and former MVP had been the central piece in making the Thunder one of the league’s elite teams since the franchise’s move to Oklahoma City in 2008.
Westbrook had played his entire NBA career alongside Durant, so questions about how Westbrook would respond immediately cropped up.
He defiantly answered them with memorable performances.
Westbrook became the first player since Oscar Robertson in 1961-62 to average a triple-double for a season and won his second scoring title. He broke Robertson’s single-season record with 42 triple-doubles and led the Thunder to the playoffs. Now, he will join Houston’s James Harden and San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard as finalists for the league’s MVP award. The winner will be announced Monday at the inaugural NBA Awards show.
Westbrook gained satisfaction from the team’s success, which largely was fueled by his personal dominance.
”With everything happening last summer, people counted us out,” he said the day after Oklahoma City’s season ended. ”They weren’t sure how many games we were going to win or how far we were going to go or whatever, but I think the group of guys, we never let that sink in our building. We stuck together, and that’s the thing I’m most proud about.”
Westbrook wasn’t just stat stuffing, either. The Thunder went 33-9 when he had a triple-double and 14-26 when he didn’t. He seemingly gained energy as the season progressed and was statistically better after the All-Star break than before. As for those late-game situations, he led the league with 10 points per game in the fourth quarter and was one of the most dynamic closers in the league.
Westbrook topped Robertson’s single-season, triple-double record on April 9 in Denver. His 36-foot game-winning dagger put the final touch on a 50-point, 16-rebound, 10-assist performance that eliminated the Nuggets from playoff contention.
Robertson himself showed up to the Thunder’s regular-season finale and endorsed Westbrook for the MVP award.
”What he has done has been historic in nature,” Robertson told the crowd that night. ”He’s played with passion and pride and ability. It’s just outstanding what he has done and the way he did it.”
Durant might be the least surprised player in the league. Westbrook was dominant while Durant was out with a foot injury during the 2014-15 season and claimed his first scoring title, but it wasn’t clear if he could do it all – score, dominate the boards, consistently feed his teammates and come through in big moments – for an entire season.
Turns out, he could.
In the second game of the season, he had 51 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in a victory over Phoenix, the first 50-point triple-double since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it in 1975. On March 27, he had 13 points in a 3-minute barrage to rally the Thunder past Dallas. Two days later in Orlando, he scored 57 points and posted the most points ever in a triple-double. He hit a deep 3-pointer to force overtime, and eventually helped the Thunder win. In one of his most memorable games, he scored 47 points in a loss to Durant’s Warriors.
Harden and Leonard also had MVP-caliber seasons:
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JAMES HARDEN, HOUSTON
As stunning as Westbrook’s triple-double binge was this season, Harden’s was impressive, too.
He posted 22 triple-doubles and helped the Rockets finish with the league’s third-best record. Harden, known primarily as a scorer throughout his career, shifted from shooting guard to point guard and was nearly unstoppable in coach Mike D’Antoni’s fast-paced offense.
Harden led the league with 11.2 assists per game and finished second with 29.1 points per contest. In perhaps his best performance, he had 53 points, 16 rebounds and 17 assists against the New York Knicks on New Year’s Eve.
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KAWHI LEONARD, SAN ANTONIO
Leonard is the two-time reigning Defensive Player of the Year, and he’s up for the honor again.
Yet, it was the 6-foot-7 forward’s offensive improvement that put him in the mix for the MVP award. He averaged 25.5 points this season after averaging 21.2 the previous year.
Leonard helped the Spurs finish with the league’s second-best record. He seemed to play as the stage got bigger.
He opened the season with a career-high 35 points in a blowout win over the Warriors. Leonard upped that career high with 41 points in a win over Cleveland on Jan. 21, and he dropped 39 points in a victory over Houston on March 6.
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Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP .
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