National Basketball Association

Oklahoma City Thunder: Russell Westbrook Makes History

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

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If the NBA’s Most Valuable Player was awarded after two games, Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook would be the second unanimous MVP in history

Russell Westbrook made history by doing something that hasn’t been achieved since Kareem Abdul-Jabaar in 1975. The Oklahoma City Thunder point guard explodes for a 51-point triple-double.

In his last game against the Philadelphia 76ers, a fan flipped him off. As a result, the Phoenix Suns are the victims of his latest rampage. Westbrook’s NBA 2K-like stat line was made up of 51 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to secure his first triple-double of the season.

With 7.6 seconds left in overtime, Westbrook drove to the basket for a lay-up to put the Thunder ahead 111-110. Suns guard Devin Booker attempted a layup but was met at the rim by Andre Roberson who blocked it off the backboard. Westbrook was then fouled where he would connect on two free throws to give him 51. The Thunder prevailed in a 113-110 overtime victory.

Moments after time expired, he taunted the Suns as they left the court but transformed into a different person for his post game interview.

via FoxSports

“You’ve got to want to win,” he told reporters. “Very simple, when you want to win, you don’t think about being tired. To me, being tired is a mind thing. It’s in your mind. You’ve got to go out there and compete at a high level and leave it on the floor.”

Due to the departure of Kevin Durant, Westbrook has the free will to shoot whenever he wants to. Consequently, he had 44 shot attempts while connecting on 17. Kobe-esque if you ask me. Whatever the case may be, it got the job done and I don’t think it is a problem considering the fact that he had 10 assists.

On FS1’s Skip and Shannon: Undisputed, Shannon Sharpe made an excellent point about Westbrook. He said that we are going to see Westbrook at his full maximum offensive potential.

via Undisputed

“We thought Kobe was great, but we didn’t know how great he was until Shaq left,” said Sharpe. “We knew he was special, but we didn’t think he was this special, and that’s what you’re about to see from Russell Westbrook.”

There have been some amazing performances during opening week, but this one was special. Two games in, it’s hard not to make a case for Russell Westbrook to win his first MVP award. If he can sustain this high level of play for 80 more games, the trophy will be his.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are off to a wonderful 2-0 start and will face the youthful and energetic Lakers on Sunday.