Jerry West calls Russell Westbrook 'a reincarnation of Michael Jordan’

Hall of Famer and NBA champion Jerry West had high praise for Russell Westbrook when he went on The Jump on Friday. The Logo compared Westbrook's athleticism to that of six-time champ Michael Jordan.

West says:

"I always felt that Michael Jordan was one of those unbelievably gifted athletes, but we're looking at a reincarnation of Michael Jordan, who might be a little bit better in terms of athletic ability. The guy, he's like a Plastic Man. I love the passion he plays the game, but he has the ball a lot in his hands, he does, so he should be with his ability, he should be there.

"James Harden's the same way, but I think James has got more weapons around him offensively, but it will be a close race. There's four guys there."

However, West refused to pick an MVP on-air.

"I wouldn't want to do that," he said.

But another legendary player, Oscar Robertson, who has also recently praised Westbrook, especially after the Thunder guard broke his single-season triple-double record, was happy to comment on the MVP race.

Robertson told USA TODAY Sports a couple weeks ago:

"Knowledgeable basketball people understand that sometimes if you don't have the right ingredients on your team, if you're not good inside or you don't play defense, you may not win a championship," he said. "But that does not demean what you've done as an individual. And I can say this without blinking, that what Russell Westbrook has done truly - even (though the Houston Rockets' James) Harden is close to him - but what he's done, he's got to be the MVP of the league."

The MVP Award winner will announced on June 26.