It’s time to change the name of the NBA’s MVP trophy to its real title: Best Regular Season Performer.
No disrespect meant to the vibrant Russell Westbrook at Monday night’s first annual NBA Awards — which I thought were a smashing success. He earned the hardware with a historic triple-double average, even though the controlling approach is not the best way to win. As Westbrook was giving a heartfelt speech, did you notice a few glaring omissions from the audience?
Arguably the league’s three best players were not in attendance. LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry (the reigning back-to-back MVP award winner) were at home watching the ceremony… because… well… they weren’t finalists for any individual awards.
We’ve reached a point with LeBron, Durant and Curry where winning the MVP is an insignificant measurement of success. LeBron now values regular season rest, having sat out an average of nine games per year the last three seasons. Durant played a career-low 33.4 minutes per game in his debut season with the Warriors. And how about Curry? Some said he was slipping during the regular season — so he turned that into fuel to have without question the best postseason of his career.
These power players are legitimately no longer competing for MVP awards. Their eyes are on a much larger prize named Larry O’Brien. Their absences at the NBA Awards ceremony tells you everything you need to know about the current criteria (voted on in late April).
By the way, when you moan about Westbrook’s teammate situation in Oklahoma City, be aware that HE opted in. He chose this turbulent path without much help. He doesn’t seem to want to coexist with other superstars.
That’s why there is no hypothetical argument here. You can’t say, ‘Well, if Westbrook was on the Cavaliers, he’d be considered a top player like Curry, and he’d perform better next to LeBron.’ It doesn’t work that way now in the NBA. If you’re a star player, you can force yourself onto a super team. Franchises would be desperate to acquire Westbrook, but HE was the one who inked an extension with Oklahoma City. He may eventually change his mind, but for now Westbrook is a victim of his own creation.
Or if you want to play the hypothetical game, we can. If Durant stays in Oklahoma City, Curry probably wins his third MVP in a row — something that hasn’t been pulled off since Larry Bird from 1983-86. Not Michael Jordan. Not LeBron. By the way, Curry averaged more points per game this past season (25.3) than he did in his first MVP campaign back in 2014-15 (23.8). Curry was the one reeling off 14 straight regular season wins while Durant mended his injured leg. His 324 made 3-pointers were the second most in NBA history, trailing only his 402 from a year ago.
Pockets of the internet are going to scream from the tops of their lungs that Westbrook is a better basketball player than Curry. That Westbrook is more explosive, a better defender, a better passer, a better rebounder. All of which are probably true.
What matters most to a basketball player? Winning. Not triple-doubles. Not MVP trophies. Winning.
So the argument becomes which player makes his teammates better? Because in basketball, only so much individual talent will get you a win. Curry’s lethal shot opens up the entire floor, and actually, sets the entire offense. All of the back-door cutting and weaving the Warriors run work because of the threat of Curry’s shot. Durant’s points per game dipped, but his field goal percentage (53.7) was by far the highest in his career. Draymond Green was able to win the Defensive Player of the Year award because he can focus on defense while Curry slingshots rockets into the hoop.
Yes, the Warriors have a better front office in place and have surrounded Curry with the most talented team in 20 years. But Curry was making NBA Finals appearances before Durant arrived. If you want to talk regular season, Curry is 10-1 against Westbrook and the Thunder since 2014. If you want to talk postseason, the Warriors came back from a 3-1 deficit in the 2016 Western Conference Finals. Klay Thompson deserves much of the credit, but go look back at the tape. Westbrook was entirely out of control in the final moments of the game. Or go to Game 7: Westbrook had 19 points on 7-for-21 shooting; Curry had 36 points on 13-for-24 from the floor. Curry slammed the door shut.
Then the argument turns toward whether Westbrook’s 40.8 usage rating this season — the highest in NBA history and more than Kobe Bryant’s previous record of 36.7 — is actually the right approach for winning a championship. Allen Iverson was the last player with a usage rating higher than 35 to appear in an NBA Finals. This was the first MVP award given to a player on a sub 50-win team since Moses Malone took it home in 1981-82. The Thunder were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round by a 4-1 margin against Houston. Billy Donovan seemed to be okay allowing Westbrook to literally go and do his own thing. The highlights are higher for Westbrook than any player in the league. But they’ve all mostly happened during the regular season.
Durant and Curry were well aware they’d be sacrificing individual honors to win championships. Did Durant take the easy way out? Or did he realize that Curry was going to make him an all-around better basketball player than Westbrook? Team basketball is what wins, not competing for touches with other stars on your team. Chew on that.