Russell Westbrook – Epic season in review

Russell Westbrook is the heart and soul of the OKC Thunder. He’s the sole remaining piece of the amazing nucleus that was the core of the first chapter in the history of the OKC Thunder. And he just had one of the best seasons in the history of the NBA.

I don’t like Russell Westbrook’s game. There, I finally said it. It’s really an aesthetic thing, as he plays with a fury that echoes across the NBA with every dribble of the basketball. Personally, I prefer more finesse. Make no mistake, the superstar of the OKC Thunder is an undeniable basketball talent. He’s like an unleashed hurricane wrapped in a tornado, with a super charged engine straight off the set of Fast Eight.

It’s equal parts amazing and frustrating to behold. The amazing is obvious to any person who’s had even a casual interest in basketball this season; as Russ chased, and overcame Oscar Robinson to average a triple-double for a season. In the most dramatic fashion, Russ broke Oscar’s record for most triple-doubles in a season. It was one of the last games of the season against the playoff-hopeful Denver Nuggets. Russ ended the game with a season-ending dagger of a three-pointer, officially eliminating the Nuggets from the postseason.

Because of course he did.

As amazing as it’s been to literally watch a man chase basketball history and something that hasn’t happened in over 50 years, there have been times where Westbrook’s play made me want to rip my hair out of my head.

Old School versus New Age Fans:

For every awe-inspiring game winning performance there was a mind-numbing outrageous decision. For every breathless transition attack where Russ made the other nine players look like they were in slow motion, there was a horrendous pull-up contested brick of a three-pointer.

In every sense of the word, Russell Westbrook is a basketball enigma. Every time we, as a collective, feel we have peeled away a layer into further understanding who (or what, because he may be an alien, a robot, a cyborg, or all three), Russell Westbrook is, four more layers pop up.

He’s been the most debated player in the NBA this season, bar none. For every undyingly-loyal fan (and shout out to all of you), there’s a detractor, who’s doing whatever they can to diminish the amazing accomplishment that was the 2016-17 Russell Westbrook season.

There’s the old-school guys who see a player literally willing his team to every win they got this season. Then there’s the more new-school guys who attempt to disparage his accomplishments citing his high usage rate and shot attempts, etc.

So, which side is right?

Well, both, to an extent. There’s two sides to every story, both of which tell a part of the story, but only both sides tell the whole story.

In the very first article I ever penned, I compared Russell’s exploits in the 2015 season to that of the Epic hero Beowulf, which is just as apt now. Using the structure of an Epic is the only fitting way to tell the story of Russell’s epic season.