On the evening of December 26, ESPN officially released the latest MVP rankings.
Fans eagerly opened the list, only to be stunned.
James and Link, who were considered the favorites to dominate the rankings, were somehow only third and second, respectively!
The top spot in the MVP rankings had been snatched by Russell Westbrook.
Everyone was baffled. What had Westbrook done to deserve being ranked above Link and James? Was it because he was stubbornly hard-headed?
ESPN's explanation for placing Westbrook first was also very simple.
A triple-double average!
Those few simple words were the reason Westbrook could rank first.
Westbrook's individual performance this season had indeed been explosive. From the very first day of the season, he had constantly rewritten all kinds of records, carrying much of the same momentum Link had possessed a few years ago.
Most of those records were related to triple-doubles.
In the season opener, "the Turtle" put up an outrageously absurd triple-double of 50 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists.
On October 31, in a win over the Lakers, Westbrook recorded 33 points, 12 rebounds, and 16 assists. It was his second straight triple-double, making him the first player since Magic Johnson in the 1982-83 season to record two triple-doubles in the first three games of a new season.
At the same time, he became the first player in NBA history to score over 100 points while recording over 30 rebounds and 30 assists through the first three games of a season.
After that, Westbrook's numbers became unstoppable. If he failed to get a triple-double in any given game, people would actually be surprised.
By December, Westbrook had surged ahead and passed James to claim sixth place on the NBA's all-time triple-double list. Moreover, his stats had stabilized within triple-double-average territory!
After entering December,