Russell Westbrook was crowned the Most Valuable Player of the 2016-2017 NBA season Monday night, earning the prestigious award after averaging a triple-double through 82 games. Westbrook's life went on after Kevin Durant decided to part ways with the point guard dynamo he spent nearly his entire career with. Russell was the bread, butter and spreading knife for the Oklahoma City Thunder as they tried to move on despite losing a former MVP last summer. The Thunder, without any other significant roster adjustments, wound up making the playoffs on the back of Westbrook's dominance. They won 47 games, good enough for the No. 6 seed, but were eliminated in five games by the Houston Rockets in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs. It was a promising start to the post-Durant era for the Thunder, though, with Westbrook clearly driven to pick up the slack left behind. Averaging 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists is certainly one way to go about doing forgetting KD, which is exactly what Russell did. Still, as awarding as being crowned the top NBA player is, the ultimate goal of winning a championship still looks like a distant one for Westbrook. Not only are the Golden State Warriors stacked to become a dynasty, the Thunder need something besides Westbrook being their everything to be considered a contender.If Russell needs some motivation for next season and beyond, the leader of the brand he's signed to gave him some extra fuel to his fire. Michael Jordan and Jordan Brand sent Westbrook a pretty sweet congratulatory package to the Mr. Triple-Double:

Most importantly, Jordan tossed in a phenomenal personal message to the Jordan Brand ambassador that electrifies on the court:

Jordan was many things, but he wasn't a champion until 1991. MJ won his first MVP awared in 1988. He was considered one of the greatest talents the NBA had ever seen prior, but like many stars, putting a ring on it was a difficult task despite his individual greatness. 

Westbrook did enough on his own to drag the Thunder into the playoffs, but there's a long road ahead for Oklahoma City barring a major free agency signing within the next two summers. The second-best player on a contender can't be Victor Oladipo. 

Russell's season was one of the greatest ever recorded, and he more than deserves the MVP award. We'll see if he can find his way back to the NBA Finals, and if the Thunder can find the Scottie Pippen to their very own Jordan.