Russell Westbrook – from MVP to critics punchline, Thunder guard gets no respect

Fox Sports Radio host Jason McIntyre argues Russell Westbrook is a ball hog and intentionally pads stats.

When thinking about the top players in the league today, many things have to go into consideration. It can begin to feel like comparing apples to oranges in some cases, as players are sometimes both equally great despite a large stylistic difference.

At the end of the day it comes down to personal opinion. For the most part, the best players have very few flaws, so fans and analysts nitpick to make their arguments. People look for the slightest differences in season averages and percentages, and even pull out advanced analytics to argue player impact. After all the research done and the arguments develop, fans and professionals sometimes leave out an important piece – common sense.

It almost feels like yesterday when Westbrook was being awarded the MVP trophy. He had just put the entire city on his back and carried an otherwise under-average team to the playoffs. In doing so, he made history by becoming the second player ever to average a triple-double in a season. And despite doing those two things again just one year later, Thunder fans suddenly feel like we’re arguing his relevance.