The BIG3 rolled through Tulsa on Sunday for its third stop of the season, as Ice Cube’s 3-on-3 basketball league continues its tour of the country. Tulsa is a 90-minute drive from Oklahoma City, where Russell Westbrook, the NBA MVP, resides, and in case Westbrook’s historic triple-double season wasn’t enough to have fans excited about next year, the Thunder also added Paul George this summer.
There hasn’t been much opportunity for the Thunder faithful to congratulate their star on his MVP, as it was handed out after the NBA Finals and NBA Draft, so when Westbrook showed up courtside in Tulsa on Sunday afternoon, he was greeted with a standing ovation and the requisite “MVP” chants.
MVP chant for Russell Westbrook at the BOK Center #Big3 pic.twitter.com/pgVcyIZht8
— Erik Horne (@ErikkHorne) July 9, 2017
Westbrook can expect this kind of response at most public appearances he makes in the state of Oklahoma for at least the next year. While last year was exhilarating to watch Westbrook put up seemingly impossible numbers night after night, season two of his post-Kevin Durant revenge tour figures to be far more substantial with the addition of Paul George alongside.
George will give the Thunder a much needed alternative to Westbrook in a play-making role and, while we probably won’t see quite the same level of production from Westbrook in 2017-18 (although, it’s not out of the question) the Thunder should be a far more competitive team in the Western Conference with him on board.
