Russell Westbrook promised himself he wasn’t going to cry, but he did. After accepting his MVP award on Monday in New York, Westbrook delivered a touching speech and even brought his teammates up onto the stage before moving on to thank his parents, brother, and wife.
For Westbrook, this award was a long time coming, but now he is finally the MVP of the entire NBA. Here is most of Westbrook’s speech.
It wasn’t until Westbrook started about his parents and the rest of his family that he really got emotional, bringing back memories of his former teammate Kevin Durant’s famous MVP speech, known best for the “You’re the real MVP” line. Westbrook described how his brother, Raynard, texts him at halftime of every single game he has ever played and his wife, Nina, is the person who sticks with him through everything.
This is what the NBA does best: It allows its athletes to be emotional, approachable humans. Westbrook had a beautiful speech, earnestly thanking those who helped push him to this moment, and this really was a great moment.