Russell Westbrook: Is He an Elite Defender?

Earlier this week the NBA released their choices for the 1st and 2nd NBA All-Defensive Teams. The teams were made up of defensive specialists like Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard and runner-up Draymond Green. No surprise there. We also saw a few players that we always expect to make the list, like Chris Paul and Tim Duncan. Also no surprise.

What did seem to surprise people that follow the league was the fact that Russell Westbrook received votes to be considered one of the league’s top defenders.

Westbrook earned 35 total points, with many of them coming from the 13 first-team votes he received. This gave him the fifth-most total points of any guard. For some reason, these numbers made a ripple through the ranks of NBA fans. Many claim that Westbrook didn’t deserve the amount of votes he received.

However, if you take a look at the numbers, their claims are disputable.

This last season, Westbrook finished second in the NBA in steals. He averaged an impressive 2.09 steals per game. This number trailed only the DPOY, Kawhi Leonard. It’s hard to argue with the numbers like that. Westbrook seemed to feed of off sloppy passes and slower ball-handlers. He uses his lightning-quick reflexes to perfectly anticipate passing lanes:

Westbrook’s strength also lies in pressuring an opponent and lunging explosively at just the right moment, thereby disrupting the ball handler just enough to lead to an easy steal and, usually, a fast-break opportunity. This playoff highlight versus the Memphis Grizzlies’ Mike Conley Jr. is a perfect example:

Not only is Westbrook one of the best in the league at taking the ball from the other team, he is also one of the most explosive leapers. This leads to some pretty exciting blocks by the point guard. Just take a look at what he did to Goran Dragic:

Now, I’ll admit that Russ can be a little sloppy on the defensive end at times, but let’s remember a very important factor as to why. He spends so much of his energy and explosiveness on the offensive end that it’s amazing that he even does this much on the defensive end.

If he decided to take a step back on offense and devote his energy exclusively toward defense, I could see him being a perennial All-Defense selection. He’s a guy that goes 100 percent the whole game, but scoring is his base instinct. If he wanted to, he could be just a shut-down defender similar to Tony Allen, joining him on the “first team all-defense.”

Instead, he carries much of the scoring load (particularly in Kevin Durant’s absence) and relies on his incredible athleticism to pick-and-choose his spots – usually it translates to steals, sometimes he whiffs badly. Critics will call it an unnecessary gamble but Thunder fans have long accepted that the occasional miscue by Westbrook is more than made up for with plays like this:

Now everyone can point out all his flaws and weaknesses, but he still averaged more steals than any guard that was selected to either All-Defensive Teams. You can argue against voting for Westbrook but, in this case, the numbers don’t lie.

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