Andre Roberson is vital to future success of the Thunder

Andre Roberson has had an outstanding year for the OKC Thunder. He has responded to increased responsibility with nothing short of excellence and elite professionalism.

Public opinion of Andre Roberson is mostly right. He alone held together the defensive game plan for the OKC Thunder all season. Every night Billy Donovan threw Roberson at the team’s best offensive player. Sometimes, that meant chasing young gunners like Damian Lillard around the perimeter. Other times, that meant mixing it up with rebounding mounds like Carmelo Anthony near the basket. Still, Roberson disrupted the opposing team’s best player with a consistency that I dare argue supersedes what Kawhi Leonard has done this year.

Normally, it would be his impeccable defense that draws his loudest plaudits. Critics often bring up his shooting woes as his biggest drawback. However, both these arguments fail to capture the binding trait of Roberson’s performance this year.

Offensively, his inconsistent shooting form continue to hound him. His free throw shooting crumbled to his lowest mark since entering the league, not to mention his infamous playoff woes. Roberson failed to connect from behind the arc too, dropping below 25% yet again.

That much is true about Roberson. A vast leap forward defensively, held back by a slippage on the offensive end. But beneath this public display are three story lines that make his improvement all the more impressive.