Kevin Durant Vs. Russell Westbrook: Who Is More Valuable to the Thunder?

The Oklahoma City Thunder are one of the best teams in the NBA, and with loads of young talent, they will be championship contenders for a long time.

Kevin Durant is the face of the Thunder and was the favorite to win the NBA MVP award prior to the season, according to a survey taken by all 30 NBA general managers.

So far this season, another player has emerged into the MVP discussion—and it's one of Durant's teammates.

Point guard Russell Westbrook has been Oklahoma City's best player and arguably their most valuable team member. Westbrook has taken every phase of his game to a new level.

He is scoring more than he ever has this season, currently ninth in the league, averaging 24ppg. 

Many fans and experts who watch the Thunder regularly believed Durant needed to be more of a distributor rather than a pure scorer this season. If Durant allowed his teammates to be more involved, the team would benefit in all areas.

While Durant is still the scoring leader, averaging 27.4ppg, he is allowing his teammates to look for their offense more and Westbrook is reaping the benefits.

When comparing the overall impact both Durant and Westbrook have on the Thunder's nightly performance, Westbrook clearly helps Oklahoma City in more ways than Durant does, statistically.

Westbrook is seventh in the league in assists, averaging 8.7 per game. He is also among the leaders in steals, averaging 2.12 thefts per game, good for sixth in the league.

Is Westbrook just benefiting from having more involvement in the offense, or has he really improved to the level where we can genuinely compare him to Kevin Durant?

An argument can be made that both are true.

There are certainly enough possessions for Oklahoma City to have both Durant and Westbrook have many touches per game.

Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were both players who were most effective with the ball rather than moving without it, and they were able to make it work.

Durant and Westbrook are not the duo Jordan and Pippen were, but they have the potential to win many NBA titles like Jordan and Pippen. 

Many NBA observers are look at Durant's stats and assume he's having a bad season so far. Yes, his stats are worse this season than last year, but the Thunder are a better team.

Furthermore, the Thunder have many players who need the ball to show how good they are.

Forward Jeff Green is a good player, but has yet to have a breakout season where he proves he'll be a star for many years to come. Young shooting guard James Harden and emerging young center Serge Ibaka also are terrific players who need the ball to not only show they belong, but to improve with experience. 

Harden is a great shooter, but on a team with so much scoring, it's hard for him to get a lot of shots. Fortunately, for Thunder head coach Scott Brooks, his two stars and leaders, Durant and Westbrook, don't have big egos.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are two great players, and at small forward and point guard respectively, they impact the game in different ways. But beyond the statistics, Durant is more valuable to the Thunder.

Without Durant on the floor, the focus of the defense is entirely shifted to Westbrook. When this happens, Westbrook is less effective and does not have the same offensive impact as Durant.

Kevin can get his shot off against anyone, having the height, speed and skills to get to the basket when he is double and triple teamed.

Even on nights when his shooting is not very good, Durant can still make a huge impact offensively. Westbrook is not this type of player—yet.

Westbrook may become a better player than Durant sometime in the near future, but right now the most valuable player to the Oklahoma City Thunder is Kevin Durant.

Unlike many egotistical players in today's NBA, Durant realizes he helps himself and the team do more when he does less.