Feature Presentation: 2015-16 BDL Second-Most Valuable Player
We at Ball Don’t Lie enjoy healthy debate about basketball and its strange cast of characters, from Oscar Robertson’s “get off my lawn” diatribe on Stephen Curry to D’Angelo Russell’s sting operation on a self-dubbed dude named Swaggy P and his Australian hip hop artist fiancé. (Yup, those things happened.) It’s NBA with a twist here at the BDL, so we wanted to stir the pot and shake up the league’s annual awards.
BDL SECOND-MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
MVP isn’t so much a question as it is a coronation at this point. Stephen Curry’s riding one of the most ludicrous statistical seasons on arguably the greatest regular-season team in NBA history. He’s eclipsed his own single-season 3-point record by more than 100 makes, shooting 45 percent on 11 long-distance attempts per game, while adding 6.7 assists, 5.5 rebounds and a league-leading 2.1 steals. Insanity.
Meanwhile, the NBA itself is enjoying quite a resurgence, too, with a handful of guys producing seasons unlike the league has seen in years, or even decades, so the race for second place is far more interesting.
AND THE WINNER IS: Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder.
Let’s start with those averages, shall we: 23.5 points, 10.4 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game. Oscar Robertson produced those numbers in three of four seasons from 1961-65, and that’s it. That’s the extent of NBA players who have done what Westbrook is doing, even at the most basic of statistical levels.
Thunder teammate Kevin Durant probably summed it up best following Westbrook’s epic 25-point, 19-assist and 11-rebound effort in a double-digit win over the Clippers last month: “NBA 2K. On rookie. That’s unheard of. Words can’t even describe it because it looks so effortless and smooth in the game.”
His 18 triple-doubles in 2015-16 are the highest single-season total since Magic Johnson’s 18 in 1981-82, and only the Big O and Wilt Chamberlain have recorded more triple-doubles over an 82-game season.
Yet, bouncers still don’t recognize Westbrook, not even in his hometown of L.A., not even in this outfit:
Perhaps said bouncers should get a load of these Ball Don’t Lie headlines from the past year …
April 16, 2015: Russell Westbrook on what scoring title means after Thunder miss playoffs: ‘S***’
July 14, 2015: Even Russell Westbrook had to laugh at this impression of what he looks like on the court
Sept. 14, 2015: Russell Westbrook searches for an encore to an overwhelming season
Sept. 16, 2015: Russell Westbrook’s Barneys fashion collection is suitably ridiculous
Oct. 15, 2015: Russell Westbrook would love to dunk on you so, so much
Oct. 22, 2015: Russell Westbrook swears he’s never shaved a day in his life
Oct. 29, 2015: Thunder outlast Spurs, Russell Westbrook and Kawhi Leonard star in terrific opener
Oct. 31, 2015: Russell Westbrook, Victor Oladipo trade big 3’s, Thunder top Magic in 2OT
Nov. 5, 2015: Kevin Durant calls Russell Westbrook Thunder’s ‘best player’ after loss to Raptors
Nov. 19, 2015: Russell Westbrook dominates in Thunder win over Pelicans
Dec. 4, 2015: Russell Westbrook on inbound-to-himself buzzer-beater: ‘I’ve done that before’
Dec. 9, 2015: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook shine as Thunder hand Grizzlies worst home loss
Dec. 11, 2015: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook post 20p, 10a each for 1st time in OKC win
Dec. 22, 2015: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook best Chris Paul in wild finish to Thunder-Clippers
Dec. 28, 2015: Russell Westbrook dances like nobody’s watching, leads OKC past Nuggets
Jan. 13, 2016: Russell Westbrook, Charlie Villanueva ejected for separate incidents in OKC-Dallas
Jan. 20, 2016: Russell Westbrook dunks so hard that Kevin Durant’s sacred he’ll hurt himself
Feb. 4, 2016: Kevin Durant’s last-second 3, Russell Westbrook’s triple-double lead OKC past Magic
Feb. 8, 2016: Russell Westbrook made fun of Kevin Durant’s Super Bowl photo work
Feb. 14, 2016: Russell Westbrook nabs back-to-back MVPs in highest-scoring All-Star Game
March 20, 2016: Russell Westbrook’s 20-assist triple-double paces Thunder past Clippers
March 29, 2016: Russell Westbrook’s latest triple-double has him on the brink of history
March 30, 2016: Russell Westbrook on Reggie Jackson’s celebration: ‘Some real bulls***’
Seriously, you didn’t read one of those posts, bouncer bro? C’mon. I mean, nothing could encapsulate Westbrook better than those 23 headlines from the past calendar year: Incredible. Insane. Incomparable.
AND THE NOMINEES WERE …
| 2015-16 BDL SECOND-MOST VALUABLE PLAYER RESULTS | |||||
| PLAYER | TEAM | 1ST (5 PTS) | 2ND (3 PTS) | 3RD (1 PT) | Total |
| Russell Westbrook | Oklahoma City | 3 | 1 | — | 18 |
| Kawhi Leonard | San Antonio | 1 | 2 | 1 | 12 |
| LeBron James | Cleveland | — | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Draymond Green | Golden State | — | — | 2 | 2 |
AND NOW A WORD FROM THE ACADEMY …
We understand some of the fun comes with picking apart the voting panel and publicly shaming their misfires, so we’ll do our best to explain ourselves before you folks let us have it in the comment section.
Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
2015-16 averages: 21.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.
Last player to submit those averages for a full season: LeBron James in 2007-08 (30.0 PTS-7.9 REB-7.2 AST-1.8 STL-1.1 BLK, 29.1 PER, 56.8 TS%), when he somehow finished fourth behind Kobe Bryant (28.3 PTS-6.3 REB-5.4 AST-1.8 STL-0.5 BLK, 24.2 PER, 57.6 TS%) in the MVP race.
Ridiculousness factor: Once considered a subpar shooter, Leonard ranks third in the NBA in 3-point percentage (44.3) behind J.J. Redick (47.5) and Stephen Curry (45.2). Of the six others to ever produce Leonard’s basic stat line above since the NBA began recording steals and blocks in 1973-74 — Julius Erving (5 times), Hakeem Olajuwon (4 times), David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, Paul Pierce and LeBron — only 2001-02 Pierce (40.4 3P%) shot better than 34.5 percent from 3.
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
2015-16 averages: 25.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.6 blocks per game.
Last player to submit those averages for a full season: Michael Jordan in 1988-89 (32.5 PTS-8.0 REB-8.0 AST-2.9 STL-0.8 BLK, 31.1 PER, 61.4 TS%), when he finished NBA MVP runner-up to Magic Johnson (22.5 PTS-12.8 AST-7.9 REB-1.8 STL-0.3 BLK, 26.9 PER, 62.5 TS%).
Ridiculousness factor: You know who else produced that basic stat line above since 1973-74? LeBron James in 2012-13 (MVP) … 2010-11 … 2008-09 (MVP) … and 2007-08. The only other guy besides LeBron and MJ to do it: Larry Bird in 1986-87. I’d say he’s still in elite company there.
Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
2015-16 averages: 14.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.
Last player to submit those averages for a full season: Nobody, at least not since 1973-74.
Ridiculousness factor: And who might be the last player to come that close to averaging a triple-double for a full season? Yup, you guessed it: Russell Westbrook.
CUE THE AUDIENCE REACTION …
2015-16 BDL AWARDS
IN THEATERS NOW: Bench of the Year • Coach(ing Change) of the Year • Defensive Unit of the Year • (Non-Lottery) Rookie of the Year • Executive (Decision) of the Year • (2nd) Most Valuable Player
COMING SOON: Most (Random) Improved Player • Comeback Player of the Year • All-Potential Team • All-Defensive* Team • All-BDL Team
WE REALLY, REALLY LIKE YOU
First and foremost, we’d like to thank Yahoo Sports Photos and Multimedia Manager Amber Matsumoto for her tireless work on graphics. None of this would’ve been possible without her. And special thanks to Basketball Reference and NBA.com/stats for statistics, Oklahoman beat reporter Anthony Slater for the Durant’s fantastic NBA 2K quote, Graphiq for the triple-double stat box, GQ and Splash News for that Derelicte-esqe fashion photo, Oakley and Allen for the Vine and ProProfs Poll Maker for the poll.
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Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
