Russell Westbrook

First, Russell Westbrook broke the record for most triple-doubles in a single season. Then he shattered the hearts of the Denver Nuggets. When the Oklahoma City Thunder star point guard grabbed a rebound off a missed Nikola Jokić runner, his team trailed by two with only two seconds left on the clock. No matter, as the soon-to-be-named NBA MVP came out of a timeout, corralled a pass from Steven Adams and buried a dagger 3-pointer from 36 feet that won the Thunder the game while eliminating the Nuggets from playoff contention. The clutch game-winner capped a historic day for Westbrook, who notched his NBA-record 42nd triple-double of the season with 50 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists, breaking a mark that had stood since 1962. Westbrook scored the Thunder’s final 15 points while shooting 17 of 32 from the field, 5 of 12 from downtown and 11 of 11 from the stripe on April 9, 2017. Fittingly, Westbrook averaged a triple-double that season at 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists and would later become the league’s all-time leader in career triple-doubles.

MVP Year