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Top 5 Point Guard Rankings: Russell Westbrook

By SaintClair Edmunds III

May 26, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) is defended by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) in the fourth quarter in game five of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors won 120-111. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
May 26, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) is defended by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) in the fourth quarter in game five of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors won 120-111. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Westbrook vs Curry

Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

Now this one is the toughest. Let’s state some of the obvious facts. Curry is by far the better shooter. We don’t even need to go into detail. Second obvious fact, Westbrook is way more athletic than Curry, he’s quicker, bigger, and stronger.

Now let’s talk assists, Westbrook averaged more at 10.4 compared to Curry’s 6.7 per game last season. But, Curry led the league in scoring with 30.1 points per game to Westbrook’s 23.5 points.

The lower assists of Curry can be explained away by his higher scoring numbers and playing with Draymond who averaged 7.4 assists.

The lower scoring of Westbrook can be explained away because of him playing alongside Durant and having  higher assists numbers.

When you take these facts into account Curry and Westbrook basically cancel each other out on points and assists. One chose to score more. One choose to pass more. Neither are a good measure of who is better.

So, let’s look at other categories.

Westbrook is top five in a lot of areas.

But, Steph Curry was the MVP for a reason.

When it comes to win shares per 48 minutes, plus/minus, value over replacement, steals per game, true shooting percentage, and most importantly player efficiency rating Steph Curry ranked number 1 in all of these categories last season.

Next: Top Five Point Guards

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