Russell Westbrook's 2016-17 season went down as one of the most prolific in NBA history, and the league acknowledged this fact on Monday night, June 26, when he was named its Most Valuable Player. Congratulations have rolled in from celebrities, fans, journalists, and peers who feel the honor is well deserved for the six-time All-Star. One congratulatory message that won't soon fade with the news cycle or wind up deleted with his old texts though, came from His Airness himself, Michael Jordan, who sent the newly crowned MVP a letter in which he draws parallels between them.
"CONGRATS, RUSSELL. I GOT MY FIRST MVP AWARD BEFORE MY FIRST RING, TOO... KEEP GOING!" MJ wrote.
Comparisons to Jordan's 1987-88 season are quite interesting. As was the case with Russ this year, the Bulls great made a compelling case for himself by opening up his game and showing himself to be as well rounded a player as there was in the NBA that year. Jordan led the league in scoring that year but perhaps the bigger story was him taking home Defensive Player of the Year in addition to the league's highest honor, by registering 3.2 steals and 1.6 blocks per game; which were league bests in both categories. Westbrook also made a compelling argument for himself by diversifying his game, but he did so across offensive categories, standing out of course, in the points [31.6], rebounds [10.7] and assists [10.4] categories.
There is then the area of team success, which Jordan touches on in his letter. There is, however, a slight difference in terms of how well their teams fared as it compares to one another. While neither would go all the way towards capturing a first ring, Jordan's Bulls did make it out of the first round that season, which is a feat that Westbrook couldn't claim in 2017.
Source: instagram.com
