National Basketball Association

Does Russell Westbrook deserve to be the 2017 MVP favorite?

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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It’s widely accepted that if the Oklahoma City Thunder are be successful this season, then Russell Westbrook needs to be successful this season. But does he deserve to be the MVP favorite?

If you were to bet $10 on Russell Westbrook to win the 2017 Most Valuable Player award, you could win yourself just under $40.

However, if you were to bet $10 on the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the 2017 NBA championship, you could win yourself $250.

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Sadly, that doesn’t correlate.

In basketball your team’s success goes a long way in your quest for the MVP award. Last season, Stephen Curry unanimously won the prestigious award as his side went on to win 73 regular-season games. The year before he guided the Golden State Warriors to their first title in 40 years.

It seems that getting points on the board merely isn’t enough to win you the MVP, with a high conference finish or successful postseason required to win the accolade.

Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Last season, James Harden finished the regular season with a 29 point average, yet even with Curry’s 30.1 average out of the question, the man with the beard wouldn’t have won the award.

It would’ve gone to LeBron James, or had they not choked against Golden State, potentially an OKC player.

In fact, the last 28 MVP winners have seen their franchise finish as at least as a second seed, if not a first. The only exception to that being Karl Malone in 1999, when his Utah Jazz side finished as a third seed with a record tied for first.

The last man to truly win the MVP award with his franchise finishing outside the top two was none other than Michael Jordan, when his Chicago Bulls side finished third in the East in 1988. But he averaged 35 points and a career-high 3.2 steals that year, he could hardly be ignored.

Where does that leave OKC and Russ?

Mar 16, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) reacts after his three point basket against the Boston Celtics in the second half at TD Garden. Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Celtics 130-109. Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The Thunder’s 25/1 championship odds are the fourth best in the Western Conference, behind the Warriors, the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Despite having possessed the impressive duo of Kevin Durant and Russ for the best part of a decade, the only time either has won the Most Valuable Player award was the last time the Thunder finished second, when they ended the season with 59-23 record in 2014.

The Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers are both comfortable favorites to retain their respective conference titles, which means it would make sense for Curry, LeBron or Durant to be the favorite.

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But should that be the case?

Is the Thunder can finish the season with a similar record to the one just gone, then it will be considered a big over-achievement.

Despite the additions of Ersan Ilyasova and Victor Oladipo among others, Oklahoma City’s roster is considerably weaker.

With Westbrook expected to average a double-double and bring home at least a 20-point scoring average, it could be time to break the trend.

If the Cavaliers lost LeBron and Kyrie Irving led the league in assists en-route to a successful season, would he be the favorite?

Breaking a 28-year trend is something that’ll take a lot of doing on Westbrook’s part, and it looks like it may take at least a third-seed to finish to give him any shot at the coveted award.

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