Oklahoma City Thunder Guard Russell Westbrook, Not Kevin Durant, for MVP

There was a lot of preseason hype building up Kevin Durant as the 2010-11 NBA MVP.

Maybe the freshly extended young superstar is beginning to feel the pressure for the first time in his young career, because he's not even the MVP of his own team. While KD's numbers are slightly shy of where many projected him to be, especially in terms of field goal percentage, Russell Westbrook's emergence as a legitimate MVP contender has put the rest of the league on notice.

Averaging 24.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 8.5 assists, Westbrook has been an absolute beast in every sense of the word. Additionally, Westbrook is averaging an incredible 2.2 steals per contest and seems to have really elevated his game.

Surpassing every expectation that the front office has held for him since drafting him fourth overall out of UCLA, the duo of Westbrook and Durant is comparable to any other 1-2 punch in the NBA.

The Thunder haven't played as well as some had thought they would after the team gave the Lakers a surprising run in the first round of last season's playoffs, but this is clearly a team that can compete both now and well into the future. However, if they hope to maintain and grow from their current standing, they have to lock up Westbrook.

After taking care of Durant in the offseason, it's clear that Westbrook is next in line to get paid. Many around the organization sense that Jeff Green is as good as gone come the offseason, but that's just fine as long as Westbrook is in the long-term plans. Good for at least one highlight play per evening, the young point guard is among the most elite in the game already.

An athletic freak with a very versatile skill set, his size is a definite advantage going up against opposing point guards. Standing 6'3" and 190 lbs, he has the ability to blow by just about anyone off the dribble and appears to have springs in his shoes.

When Eric Maynor comes off the bench and into the game to take over for Westbrook, the offense simply isn't the same. That's not a knock on the even  younger Maynor, but rather just a testament to Westbrook's play this season. Nobody expected him to be the major playmaker on this team this season, but he's on a one-man mission to prove everybody wrong.

It's clear that Westbrook has a very bright NBA future ahead.