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Children are the future. I’m pretty sure that’s a fact. In a world that becomes increasingly evil and corrupt by the day, it’s more important than ever to teach our kids sound morals and arm them with as many positive role models as possible. That’s why naming Russell Westbrook MVP of the NBA would be a grievous error and spell disaster for generations to come.
Basketball is a team sport. Everybody knows that. There is no “I” in “team.” Everybody knows that, too. Do we want to teach impressionable children that individual statistics and accolades are more important than team success? That goes against everything I learned as a youngster playing church league hoops. Do we want our kids to grow up idolizing ball hogs and selfish stat chasers? I don’t think so, bro. There’s a reason Carmelo Anthony has never won MVP, or a championship, and just got separated from his wife.
Every year, somewhere around the All-Star break, a worldwide debate begins over who should be named MVP of the NBA. The tighter the race, the more annoying that debate becomes as it drags on for months, dominating headlines, taking over ESPN, and being discussed by simple-minded commentators like Reggie Miller and Charles Barkley before, during and after every single game. This year, two players in particular have been the focus of incessant deliberation: Russell Westbrook and James Harden.
Westbrook had one of the most incredible offensive regular seasons in history. That goes without saying. However, the general public (same people who voted for Donald Trump) has become enamored with the fact that he tallied 42 triple-doubles over the course of 82 games. Unfortunately, he did it while shooting a lower percentage from the field than Harden, and his team accumulated 8 fewer wins as a consequence of his personal achievement. Sad!
James Harden also had a statistically historic season, but he did it while consistently making his teammates better, leading the Houston Rockets to wildly outperform pre-season expectations and secure the third best record in the NBA. How did he accomplish this? By being the embodiment of an unselfish player. If you watched the Rockets this season, you know James routinely passed on the opportunity to score himself in order to set his teammates up with open shots. As a result, he led the league in assists. Yet he still averaged an astonishing 29.1 points per game.
Before this season started, Harden took on a completely new role at the behest of his new coach by assuming the point guard position, which he had never played, just so he could give his team a better chance to win. And win they did. That’s called sacrificing for the greater good (a lesson that much of the world could benefit from). He plays efficient team basketball and is the heart and soul of one of the most effective offenses in the history of the NBA. Facts only. Nothing in this column is debatable.
I don’t know about you, but if I’m choosing between Westbrook and Harden to have my 4-year-old model his game after, I’m going with Harden, because I want my son to be a winner.
Whether you like it or not, this is yet another moral fork in the road for America. I, for one, won’t stand idly by and watch as the values of our youth are trampled on by triple-double obsessed fools who have lost their way. Sports are about winning, and when it comes to these two MVP candidates, Harden did much more of that. The participation trophy generation had their time in the spotlight; it’s time to take back our country and our integrity.
If we want Most Valuable Player to become nothing more than a vanity award serving as ammunition for marketing nerds employed by the brands a player endorses, by all means go ahead and give the award to Russell Westbrook, and, in doing so, crush the futures of so many innocent basketball-loving inner city kids. But if we care about and truly want our children and our children’s children to grow up with principles that give them the best chance to succeed in life, James Harden should be named MVP. It’s also important to remember that James Harden has a beard. You know who else has a beard? Jesus.
The ballots have already been cast, and now it’s only a matter of time before our fate as a sports people is revealed. All we can do is wait and pray. In the meantime, if you’re one of the careless buffoons who cast a first place vote for Russell Westbrook, kindly remove yourself from society and live out your remaining days in the wilderness. Do it for the kids whose lives you might have carelessly ruined..
Respond
Ross Bolen
Ross Bolen is a New York Times Bestselling author, co-host of the Oysters, Clams & Cockles: Game of Thrones podcast, co-host of the Back Door Cover sports podcast, 2017 Masters attendee, bigger and more loyal Rockets, Astros and Texans fan than you, cheese enchilada aficionado, and nap god.
@WRBolen
@WRBolen
WRBolen
“His team accumulated 8 fewer wins as a consequence of his personal achievement.”
False! Thunder record when Russ had a triple-double: 33-9
Thunder record when Russ didn’t have a triple-double: 14-26
Russ actually made the Thunder (much, much) better when he had a triple-double.
He recorded 23 of the T-D’s against non-playoff teams (13 against the NBA’s worst) and they were 20-3. When they played playoff teams they were 13-6 when he had a T-D (2-5 when playing the Cavs, Spurs, Warriors, Rockets)….Is he REALLY making them better? Or are they just abusing tanking teams but can’t actually beat any of the top teams? He also turns the ball over MORE against those top teams.
You are fake news.
Only in my day job.
If we’re voting on who gets MVP based on who would be a good example to the kids, then I refuse to vote for Harden on the basis that he dated a Kardashian
And an ugly one at that. Terrible role model
No kidding.
Oh, well pardon me Mr. PERFECT! I guess I forgot that you never ever make a mistake!
I got the reference and thought this was funny, Ross.
I can’t tell if you’re serious or not. If you are, then this is literally the worst article ever written on a sports topic. You would also need to realize tha Harden chases stats just as much as Westbrook, and he turns the ball over more than anyone in the league. If you really cared about the future of out children then you would advocate for Kawhi Leonard to be MVP. He is more efficient than both of them, plus he actually plays defense. He is also humble, never complains, and never celebrates. He also won more games than both Harden and Westbrook, and he has a championship, so if you want your kid to be a winner and the children of the world to have a positive role model, the choice is obvious: Kawhi Leonard. If you weren’t serious, then I just wasted my time and hardy-har-har. God the internet sucks.
You are right. Only problem is Harden and Westbrook sell ratings by being the flamboyant superstars the media loves and “needs.” Kawhi may be one of the best overall players but I don’t know he’ll ever win an MVP because his personality doesn’t fit the narrative.
Or it could be that the Spurs are 9 points worse with him on the court
Let Harden and “Clutch City” have the MVP. I’ll take the 5 Spurs titles any day. People forget the Rockets 2 “championships” came when MJ was filming Space Jam.
I will fight you any time, any place.
I am dead serious. Kawhi Leonard isn’t in this conversation.
The absolute worst thing you can do with a basketball is turn it over – something Westbrook and Harden did more than anyone in history this season. That’s like saying Brett Favre was the best quarterback in history even though he threw more interceptions than anyone ever. Value comes from all-around positive contributions, Ross. Westbrook and Harden shouldn’t be in this conversation, especially if LeBron James isn’t. You can’t say he isn’t in the MVP conversation because of “award fatigue” or whatever excuse you have. The best player is the best player, regardless of how he’s done in the past. If other players would step up we wouldn’t have to worry about James being so good so consistently.
Who SHOULD be in the conversation, in your wrong opinion?
A Rockets fan thinks Harden deserves the MVP, you don’t say…
I think we need to teach kids that nothing comes easy and you have to work for your goals, no matter how long it takes. Which is why Joel “the Process” Embiid should be MVP.
Get out of here with this, Ross. Let the man have his trophy.
Wow, dude. You clearly don’t care about the kids.
First and foremost Mr. Bolen, let’s take a look at the name of the award shall we? MVP stands for Most Valuable PLAYER, not most valuable team. If that were the case the Warriors would win the award. So there’s your first error, the award is an INDIVIDUAL award. Therefore, Westbrook could win MVP on the mere fact that he’s AVERAGING a TRIPLE DOUBLE, the first player to do that since who? Oh that’s right, Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson. Or should Mr. Robertson not be recognized in the Hall of Fame because he was too selfish and averaged a triple double?
Moreover, if the MVP award should go to whomever helps their team the most, it should still go to Russell Westbrook as he is a stronger asset to the Thunder than James Harden is to the Rockets. As Mr. Honcho pointed out, when Westbrook tallies a triple double, his team is 33-9 as opposed to when he doesn’t record one and OKC is 14-26. That fact alone disproves your point about how “OKC tallied 8 fewer wins is a consequence of his [Westbrook’s] personal achievement”, when clearly he is elevating his team when he has greater personal achievement. I guess Westbrook’s 10.4 assists per game is just too selfish for the children, but Harden’s 11.2 per game is just right. Furthermore, that point also throws out your statement of “Facts only. Nothing in this column is debatable”. And you’re right, the Rocket’s 55-27 record is so significantly better than the Thunder’s 47-35 that that James Harden should win MVP because his team won 8 more games. You make it sound like the Rockets are incredibly better than the Thunder because James Harden plays so unselfishly, when in reality, the two teams’ records are quite similar.
Lastly, I agree with I Don’t Wanna Be Here when he says to teach kids to work hard and never give up. Russ played in Kevin Durant’s shadow for a long time and received unjustified criticism from many, ie: Mark Cuban. Now, he is proving them all wrong because of his work ethic and attitude. That doesn’t mean I don’t believe in teamwork, which is very important and should be preached as well, but it shouldn’t be why an individual player wins the Most Valuable Player award. All this stuff about how teamwork is why James Harden should win MVP is very liberal sounding because liberals like to make everyone feel included and make sure no one is left out. The bottom line is that Russell Westbrook is a single player who deserves MVP more than James Harden, another individual player, because he is having a better season. Plain and simple.
Go Celtics.
Triple doubles are completely arbitrary. He didn’t even get into True Shooting %. Obviously the Thunder won more when Westbrook got a triple double but the team might have been better off if he turned down his usage by a few ticks. When other players got the ball they felt like they HAD to shoot when they got it because if they didn’t shoot it they’d never get it back. Over the last 15 games or so he turned down his usage and low and behold everyone started playing better. He’s only having a better season based on archaic stats that were used only because there were no better ideas out there. Check out the advanced stats and there is a completely different story being told. Also fuck you for throwing out the derogatory liberal thing. What now all the sudden making your team better isn’t an important thing? Does making your team better not make you more valuable? Am I missing something there? I’m Ron Burgundy?
This is so wrong. Steph Curry has won the last two MVPs on a team with 2 other all stars and they had the best record both years. Winning is probably the most important stat in the MVP conversation and it always has been. If Harden doesn’t win, then this award is very flawed
Big O didn’t win MVP when he averaged a triple-double. Case closed.
So you’re telling me that if you were to draft a team today regardless of age, your first overall pick would be James Harden?
That’s crazy.
I would draft Kawahi Leonard first overall because he is a class act winner who is the two time DPOY, something few NBA players do these days, and he never celebrates and never complains. His contract is worth $94 million and he still drives his Chevy Tahoe from high school. He’s the one kids should be looking up to.
I honestly believe Kawahi should be MVP but you just made it so easy for me to argue for Westbrook.
Leonard’s team is better when he isn’t on the floor. He disappears in big games and is at best #4 on the list. The award isn’t Most Wholesome Class Act Non-Complainer Award. It is asinine that LeBron is not in the conversation. LeBron literally has better stats in every offensive category than Leonard- Pts,Ast,Reb, FG%, FT%, PER, Win share. How do you come out with Leonard for MVP after that? Because you won’t acknowledge we’re in the midst of the greatest basketball career of all time. Bolen is completely right about you/your takes.
You don’t even respect him enough to spell his name correctly so your points are all null and void.
They also didn’t track those stats in the early 60’s, and he going up against Wilt the Stilt who averaged over 50 points a game the same year. Big O claims to have not known he averaged a triple double until at least 15, if not 20 years later.
Wilt didnt win the MVP either, they finished 3rd and 4th respectively. Bill Russell one that year, and we all know he’s a winner. #11rings
*won
I think Richard Jefferson was on the right track when he said something like “Lebron gets overlooked because he is so great every year. We look for someone to have a spectacular and Lebron has done that. The problem is he has done that the past 5-6 years and gets overlooked because of it.”
Westbrook for MVP this year but Lebron is and has been the most dominating player in the league ever season for the last 4-6 years. Coming from a Pacer fan too so no bias here.
Did you even read the fucking column?
I really need a “Meh” button on articles
Be happy with 6th Man and Coach of the Year. Don’t get greedy, Ross.