Season in Review: Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook isn’t interested in playing any game other than basketball. He doesn’t want to play the gossip game, the media game, the comparison game. He just wants to play ball, and he plays it well.

He’s a 6-foot-3 fashion statement with the type of speed and agility that is utterly breathtaking. His ability to rebound against players nearly a foot taller than him is incredible. His unquenchable desire to win is mesmerizing.

Unfortunately, there are times when his absolute passion for winning costs him. His downright need to win has the tendency to make him frantic, hectic, and clumsy. He’s become the media’s scapegoat for poor Thunder performance and the player Thunder fans just absolutely love to hate.

Take, for instance, the heartbreaking Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals. It simply wasn’t the best way for Westbrook to end his season. When the curtain closed, we all—including Westbrook himself—found ourselves wishing he had taken a more fitting, MVP-caliber bow. But the truth is, he didn’t perform up to the potential he’d demonstrated throughout the ’15-’16 season. Game 7 ended with a 7-of-21 shooting performance that dropped his series shooting percentage down to 39.5 percent.

While that statistic may make some observers claim OKC is better off without him, don’t forget what Westbrook did do. He did end up with 19 points, 13 assists, and 7 rebounds in that pivotal game—a feat only two other players in history have accomplished in a Game Seven.

Becoming a person who lands himself in the top of the ranks, alongside some of the sport’s greatest names, is something Westbrook is really good at.

In the Western finals against Golden State, the amount of points, assists, and rebounds he compiled made him the first person to do so in a conference finals since 1984. He scored 187 points, earned 70 assists, and snagged 49 rebounds. Rajon Rondo and Magic Johnson share spots in his club, but only at 100 points, 75 assists, and 40 rebounds.

Sure, there’s no doubt Westbrook needs to step away from the perimeter. No matter how many times he misses, he seems to constantly try for that elusive three-pointer he rarely gets. That relentless pursuit is a game-breaker against a team like the Warriors. You just can’t afford it.

And true, no one’s denying that the kid needs to focus on eliminating the amount of turnovers he earns. This season featured the highest amount of turnovers in his career—342.

But, he did accomplish great feats and secure new career highs. In the ’15-’16 season, Westbrook earned a .454 field goal percentage. It was his second highest season in that regards, falling behind a .457 percentage when he was only 23 years old. When he started in the league, he made a total of 35 three-pointers. That number climbed, dipped, and climbed again. This year, he made 101.

Often, the narrative surrounding Westbrook is that he’s a ball-hog. Sure, he does take certain liberties he shouldn’t and has been known to forget that KD is on the floor, waiting for the ball. But, when he started in the league at the ripe age of 20, Westbrook had 435 assists. Fast forward five years, and Westbrook had 319 assists. This year, he had 834.

Here’s a more in-depth look at his ’15-’16 performance:

• Games – 80
• Field goal percentage – .454
• Three pointers – 101
• Three point percentage – .296
• Free throw percentage – .812
• Offensive rebounds – 145
• Defensive rebounds – 481
• Total rebounds – 626
• Assists – 834
• Steals – 163
• Blocks – 163

Yes, Westbrook may have some anger issues to sort out, but as long as he keeps that animosity stored up so he can release it on opposing teams, OKC will be all right. In an exit interview with the Thunder’s Nazr Mohammad, some of that anger was revealed. Mohammed told reporters that Russell Westbrook purposely stayed in a game against Detroit because he wanted to play against Reggie Jackson.

“I love how Russ looks at the opposing point guard and he wants to kill everybody,” Mohammed said.

As terrifying as that sounds, it is sort of understood. It’s no secret there is bad blood between the former Thunder guard and the entire team. None of that animosity was lessened after Jackson’s one-character tweet following OKC’s final loss to the Warriors.

The fact is: OKC was a plus 1.5 points per 100 possessions team when Westbrook was on the floor against the Warriors. Without him, they were a minus 10.3 per 100 possessions team.

He’s a five-time NBA All-Star, two-time NBA All-Star MVP, and this year made the All-NBA First Team. He was the NBA scoring champion in 2015. That award went to Kevin Durant in 2014 and Stephen Curry in 2016.

In 2017, Westbrook becomes a free agent. We’re just a year away from shifting our narrative from “What will KD do?” to “What will Russ do?” Though fans and critics may not be too worried now, there’s good reason to be a bit anxious about the options Westbrook will have.

Because yes, his passion and aggression and mania often cause fans to scream at the television and curse his very name. But that passion and aggression and mania is what makes Westbrook a serious athlete worthy of MVP discussion and championship rings.

It didn’t happen this year. True. But if Billy Donovan can effectively rein him in and help quiet the beast when he goes too far, Russell Westbrook could have new bling to show off against his denim and leopard leggings this time next year.