At 35 years old, Russell Westbrook is still a very good player but has seen a steady decline in his production over the last few years. However, it was not long ago when he was among the top ten players in the NBA. Whether it be his relentless end-to-end action or his shooting game, 2017 MVP Westbrook was putting up unparalleled numbers. During the 2016-2017 season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, ‘The Brodie’ shattered numerous records en route to an NBA MVP award. He even set the record for most triple-doubles, nabbed the scoring title, and was in the top ten across multiple stat categories.
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Playing all 81 games for the Thunder as per StatMuse, the then-28-year-old put up 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, 10.4 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. He shot 42.5% from the field and made 2.5 three-pointers per game while shooting 34.3% from deep. In terms of total field goals, he connected on 824 out of 1941 shots, translating to 10.2 makes on 24.0 attempts per contest. To this day, both his points per game and three-point makes from that season, remain his career-high for a season.
On March 7, 2017, Westbrook scored a career-high 58 points during a 121:126 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. Throughout the 2016-17 season, he had three games with 50 points or more. The 2017 MVP had 17 performances with 40 points or me. Meanwhile, he also had 44 performances with 30+ points or more.
In terms of league rankings in assists, he came third with a total of 840. With 10.4 rebounds per game, he was number eight in the league, lodging a total of 864 boards. With 132 steals, he also finished eighth. For the season, he had 42 triple-doubles, which remains a single-season record in the NBA. He had 62 double-doubles which places him in the top-ten guards for double-doubles in a single season.
These incredible accolades earned him a berth in the All-NBA First Team for the second straight year. In the process, he also made his sixth All-Star team. Westbrook led his Oklahoma City Thunder to 47 wins against 35 losses for the sixth place in the Western Conference. They made it to the first round of the 2017 Playoffs and drew the Houston Rockets. Unfortunately, for Westbrook and co. a red-hot Rockets beat them in five games.
During the five games, Russ averaged 37.4 points, 11.6 rebounds, 10.8 assists, and 2.4 steals per game. He had three triple-doubles but shot just 38% from the field and made 2.6 threes per game on a paltry 26% shooting. He also committed six turnovers per game and lost the series to a much better shooting team.
At any rate, the 2016-17 season remains the most heroic one of Westbrook’s career. He was on the top of his game and made triple-doubles his routine at a rate never seen in the league. For many NBA fans, Westbrook’s 2016-17 MVP season remains one of the most memorable ones ever.
