The 2016-17 NBA season has broken a record for most number of triple-doubles with 79. It's only March and there are still seven weeks of basketball to be played.
Since is the statistic (or stat line) that has caught attention, the case for winning the coveted Most Valuable Player award would be prejudiced towards the players who contributed to that record. This is why Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder is the pre-emptive favorite.
Westbrook was expected to book a record number of triple-doubles since he was already producing them even when he was playing alongside a superstar in Kevin Durant. With KD's departure, Westbrook was "unleashed" and dominated almost all the possessions of his team. Thus, triple-doubles became inevitable. Of the 79 total for all players, Westbrook owns 30 of them.
A far second to Westbrook is James Harden of the Houston Rockets. Like his former teammate Westbrook, Harden was unleashed this season with a coaching change that played to his strengths, not to mention padding up the statistics. Under Mike D'Antoni's high octane offense, the Beard managed 12 triple doubles. LeBron James, the acknowledged best player in the game today, had 7.
While the triple double is indeed a remarkable achievement that represents mastery of three skills that are vital to a team's victory, there are some quarters who contend that it is not an accurate barometer of a player's value. Hence, they also argue that Westbrook should not be the MVP.
This unpopular stand was voiced out by Mark Cuban, outspoken owner of the Dallas Mavericks. While he is not the most objective observer he shared his point. (h/t LA Times)
"You got to win 50 games and a playoff series," Cuban said Sunday. "It's impressive, don't get me wrong. It's incredible. He's unstoppable in his own way. But the criteria [are] the criteria. There's lots of rewards for individual accomplishments. But it's a team game. That's not to take anything away from Russ. It would be no fun if I changed my mind."
While Westbrook's performance is undeniably impressive, there is also an argument that there are better candidates, specifically, someone who also dominates on the defensive end. Someone like Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs, as Pau Gasol stated.
"I hope [the voters] understand," Pau Gasol told NBA.com. "I hope they see. It's not hard to see if you really watch. I think he's very much deserving of getting the MVP this season. The way he's playing, the way he's contributing on both ends of the floor. He's not the guy that just puts up 30 points and that's it. He makes huge plays defensively. So, to me, he's my MVP."
The Spurs have already clinched a playoff spot, on-course for 50 wins and even has potential to have the best record this season. All these are arguments in favor of Leonard, the reigning two-time Defensive Player of the Year.
