‘Totally Unfair’- Why Oscar Robertson Believes Russell Westbrook Should Have Won MVP Last Season

Published 08/25/2021, 6:30 AM EDT

Dominance is a skill-set well owned by the 32-YO superstar, Russell Westbrook. Surpassing the ‘Big O’ Oscar Robertson, the Washington Wizards star had clinched the all-time triple-double throne last season.

During the 2020-21 campaign, Russell Westbrook achieved a historic feat after recording his 182nd career triple-double, which outstripped Oscar Robertson’s highest record in NBA history. He broke the career triple-double triumph in a game against the Atlanta Hawks.

Russell Westbrook – the underrated guard

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Oscar Robertson was a former Milwaukee Bucks star who is the first player in NBA history to average a triple-double for a season. He won a championship in 1971 and was awarded as the MVP in 1964.

Russell Westbrook recorded his 182nd career triple-double Monday night, which passes Oscar Robertson for the most in NBA history.
It is Westbrook’s 5th career triple-double vs the Hawks. He now has at least 5 triple-doubles against 23 of the 30 NBA franchises pic.twitter.com/YkV3mFaCmK
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 11, 2021

The triple-double legend himself talks highly about Russell Westbrook. In a recent episode of Knuckleheads, Big O talked about how Westbrook’s game is underrated in the league. “They didn’t notice, they didn’t think it was such a big deal…I think that’s totally unfair. I think he should have won it (MVP award) again.”

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Westbrook became the MVP of the 2017 season when he was playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Ever since the 9-time All-star has been hopping teams from Houston Rockets to Washington Wizards and now Los Angeles Lakers. Westbrook, who recorded 38 triple-doubles in 65 games last season, finished with the all-time highest triple-double rate – 58.5%.

He averaged 22.2 points, 11.7 assists, and 11.5 rebounds in the 2020-21 regular season. Despite staggering numbers from the veteran guard, Wizards departed from the league in the Play-ins. They couldn’t make it to the playoff season and Westbrook eventually signed with the Lakers this summer.

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Los Angeles Lakers are the next stop for Westbrook

The LA fans are awaiting Westbrook’s presence in Staples Center alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. He expected to be the starting point guard for the Lakers roster in the upcoming season. The Big 3 will make certain shifts in order to fit in the dominance levels of LeBron, AD, and Westbrook.

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Russell Westbrook is heading into his 14th NBA season with several accomplishments in hand. The long-time star is returning to his hometown. Will he be able to finally win a championship in the next season? Let us know in the comments.

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Pavni Ahuja is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. Housing a keen interest in sports journalism, she is pursuing an undergraduate Journalism degree from Christ University. Pavni is an ardent fan of the NBA, with prior district-level playing experience in basketball.

‘Totally Unfair’- Why Oscar Robertson Believes Russell Westbrook Should Have Won MVP Last Season

Russell Westbrook – the underrated guard

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Los Angeles Lakers are the next stop for Westbrook