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Russell Westbrook cracked the first-timers club last season, breaking a half-decade streak in which LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry retained possession of the NBA MVP award.

He also knocked down another critical barrier, which could open things up for future MVP candidates.

Until last season, every winner since 1987-88 came from a team with the first- or second-best record in its conference. For 30 years, if a team wasn't challenging for home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, an MVP was out of the question. And if that player's team didn't grab at least 50 wins, MVP talk was basically a nonstarter.



Westbrook's Oklahoma City Thunder finished sixth in the West with 47 wins.

That doesn't mean the race for the league's highest individual honor is suddenly a free-for-all. Westbrook's win may only prove that it takes a historic achievement, like averaging the first triple-double since Oscar Robertson in 1961-62, to get noticed. But at least Russ' groundbreaking victory indicates that failing to win 50 games and finishing with one of the conference's top two seeds isn't a complete bar to MVP consideration.

And that's good news for a slew of potential first-time winners heading into the 2017-18 season.

Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry have already won their hardware, and they're set to split votes. Westbrook has Paul George now, which should cut into his gaudy numbers. LeBron James has four trophies and must slow down eventually.

The relaxation of team-success standards and the consolidation of talent mean there's a good chance we get another first-timer this season.

Who has the best shot?