Russell Westbrook is averaging a triple-double, and it’s March. He’s averaging a triple-double, and it’s already too late to turn in your NCAA tournament bracket. He’s averaging a triple-double, and half the teams in the NBA (even the ones playing well!) have more or less punted the season.

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One of those good teams, the Golden State Warriors, feature a player in Stephen Curry who feels like the least-remembered two-time consecutive MVP since Steve Nash had the honor of defending his crown against Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki and others in 2007. Curry recently relayed that he thinks James Harden, ahead of Westbrook and fellow contender Kawhi Leonard, should be this year’s MVP.

Curry’s MVP defense is more or less off the rails at this point, a holy and unholy mix of time spent alongside new addition Kevin Durant and a recent and prominent shooting slump. With the torch just about passed, Westbrook dug in a little deeper when asked about Curry’s remarks on Thursday:

That is something else. That shouldn’t be your deciding MVP vote – you should have decided long ago that a man leading the NBA in scoring while averaging a triple-double should be the MVP come hell or James Harden – but if you were on the fence, this remark should have you toppling over the edge.

Who’s he? Russell Westbrook, that’s ah’who.

His teammates are here to remind you:

Westbrook, lest you forget, is having a superb season …

… and he’ll have yet another chance to show what he does best when his Thunder take on the Raptors in Toronto on Thursday evening, in a contest not broadcast by TNT. Because of March Madness. The man just stays criminally under the radar.

If it doesn’t feel like Russell Westbrook’s year, just remember: the year ain’t over yet.

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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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