Where Have All the Russell Westbrook Critics Gone?
Before he was an NBA MVP candidate, Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Russell Westbrook was one of the most scrutinized players in basketball. Critics routinely questioned if he was a true point guard, if Russ' shot selection conflicted with the electric scoring of Kevin Durant, if Oklahoma's ceiling was tied directly to his faults.
It seems like decades since Hall of Famer Magic Johnson called Westbrook "the worst point guard in a championship finals I've ever seen" after Game 2 of the 2012 finals, per Harvey Fialkov of the Sun Sentinel.
And it feels like eons since ESPN commentator Skip Bayless said they "cannot beat good teams" with Russ as the primary ball-handler:
But it was only a year ago when Charles Barkley suggested Westbrook doesn't make his teammates better:
Where are all of those detractors now?
Westbrook continues to simultaneously build his case for basketball's top individual honor and keep Oklahoma City in the playoff race despite critical injuries to Durant and Serge Ibaka. The 26-year-old is averaging 27.6 points (first), 8.7 assists (fourth), and 7.3 rebounds, while his 10 triple-doubles are seven more than anyone else in the league.
SI.com's Lee Jenkins put Westbrook's season in a more historical context:
"Westbrook is enrapturing the league and dragging the Thunder to the playoffs by the scruff of their neck. He is on pace to average more than 27 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, a threshold that has been eclipsed only by Michael Jordan, LeBron James and (Oscar) Robertson.
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Still, it's hard to take all of the recent praise showered upon Westbrook seriously without remembering when the anti-Russ crowd was trying to chase him out of Oklahoma City with lit torches and pitchforks. As the Long Beach Blur's campaign for the ages starts its final chapter, it's time to debunk the theories that used to follow one of the league's best players.
He's Not A True Point Guard
One of the main knocks on Westbrook is that he's not a "true" point guard because he spends more time creating offense for himself than for others. It's an argument that has become ludicrous.
What is a "true point guard" exactly? There's no definitive answer.
While Westbrook calls his own number a lot (17.1 field-goal attempts per game for his career), he's also been one of the league's top assist guys for the last half-decade. Including this season, Westbrook has placed in the top five in total assists in four of the last five seasons.
He leads the league in assist percentage, according to Basketball-Reference.com, and his 520 assists this year are sixth-most in the NBA. That's despite missing 14 games with a broken hand and another with a fracture in his face. But he's not a "true" point guard, right?
Westbrook may not be the kind of pass-first point guard Chris Paul or Rajon Rondo are, but his brand of offense has still been pretty efficient this year. According to ESPN.com's Hollinger stats, Westbrook is second in the NBA with a PER (player efficiency rating) of 29.01.
Other than Tony Parker who has four championships with the San Antonio Spurs, a pass-first point guard hasn't led his team to a title since Isiah Thomas with the Detroit Pistons in 1989-90. In fact, beside Parker, the only other point guard to win a Finals MVP since Zeke was Chauncey Billups with Detroit in 2003-04, when he averaged 21.0 points and 5.2 assists against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Those don't seem like "traditional" point guard numbers to me.
The moral of the story here: Stars win championships. Not positions.
The Thunder Can't Win With Westbrook Being Westbrook
There is a perception in basketball that there must be one alpha dog surrounded by a solid supporting cast for a team to be successful, almost like the sports equivalent of Sylvester Stallone's crew in The Expendables.
We could debate for hours over what the Thunder would look like with someone like Rondo or Kyrie Irving running the show instead of Westbrook, but the issue at hand is the constant questioning of whether or not the team can succeed with Russ on the roster.
Coming into the 2014-15 campaign, OKC has won at least 61 percent of its games in each of the last five years. In the 60 games Westbrook has played this season, the Thunder are 37-23, which equates to a winning percentage of 61.7 percent. Eighteen of those wins came with Durant also in the lineup, but even when you take those victories out, the club is 19-14 (57.6 percent) with Westbrook on his own.
Plus, for all of the criticism Westbrook takes for his scoring being a detriment to the team's success, OKC is 15-9 (62.5 percent) this season when its star point guard puts up at least 30 points. He's also 11th in the NBA in win shares, according to Basketball-Reference.com, despite playing with a depleted supporting cast in a tough conference.
| Name | Win Shares | Rank |
| James Harden | 15.3 | 1st |
| Chris Paul | 14.4 | 2nd |
| Stephen Curry | 14.4 | 3rd |
| Anthony Davis | 12.6 | 4th |
| LeBron James | 9.8 | 9th |
| Russell Westbrook | 9.4 | 11th |
He's done it by making the players around him better, especially the team's latest addition, Enes Kanter. Kanter averaged 9.3 points and 5.9 rebounds in three-and-a-half seasons with the Utah Jazz. In 19 games with the Thunder, he's contributing 17.9 points and 11.0 boards.
In fairness, Kanter is playing a different role in Oklahoma City than he was in Utah. With the Thunder, he's the de facto second option behind Westbrook, which means he's a larger part of the offense. With the Jazz, he was used as more of a complementary piece.
Teammate Steven Adams attributes Kanter's improvement to the Turkish Tower being "more aggressive," but the benefit of playing with someone like Westbrook certainly helps.
"He's the best [point guard] in the league," Kanter said of Westbrook, per ESPN.com's Royce Young. "I've never really had a point guard like that, I've never had a point guard. He's just the best in the league."
Despite playing shorthanded all year, the Thunder hold a one-and-a-half game lead over the New Orleans Pelicans for the eighth seed in the West. That wouldn't be possible without Westbrook being Westbrook.
In the past, critics have described Russell Westbrook as "selfish" and claimed he's not a team player. With his transcendent 2014-15 season, Westbrook is changing minds with the same speed he uses to change directions on the basketball court.
Every step the Oklahoma City Thunder make toward the playoffs while standing atop Westbrook's shoulders is a moment of silence for the anti-Russ crowd.
While the haters voice their opinion on what's best for Westbrook, he spends his time letting his play do all of the talking.
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