OKC Thunder star Russell Westbrook making Hall of Fame case
Russell Westbrook is going to be a first ballot hall of fame player when you compare his numbers to other hall of fame players
Somehow, Russell Westbrook has acquired the criticism of being a selfish player that you can’t win with. But how does he stack up to players that are loved by NBA fans? Let’s first compare him to Jason Kidd.
Kidd was inducted into the NBA hall of fame in 2018. Jason Kidd played 19 seasons in the association with multiple teams including the Mavericks, Suns and the Nets. Throughout his career, he has only one championship with the 2011 Dallas Mavericks in his seventeenth season. Though Westbrook currently has no titles to his name, he is only in his eleventh season.
The one statistical category that Westbrook runs away with is scoring. Russell averages 23 points per game for his career. Ten points more than Kidd.
“But surely Jason Kidd was more efficient”
Actually no. Russell is a career 44 percent shooter from the field while Kidd finished his career shooting only 40 percent. Yes, behind the arc Kidd does have a four percent advantage over Westbrook’s 31 percent career 3-point percentage.
Both Kidd and Westbrook were known for triple doubles
Jason Kidd finished his career with 107 triple doubles. Westbrook, in only his eleventh season, has blown by him with currently 129. Both players rebounded and assisted at a high rate but who was better?
Rebounds are surprisingly close. Russell is highly regarded as on of the best rebounding guards in history. Westbrook currently averages seven rebounds for his career. That is only less than one percent better than Kidd.
Assists are also surprisingly close. Kidd led the NBA five different seasons in assists averaging almost nine per game. Westbrook is less than a half percentage point behind for his career.
MVP or ROY?
Again, the career accolades are surprisingly even. Obviously, Russell is the more prolific scorer.
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Russ is a two-time scoring champion but let’s look at the other accomplishments the two players share. Both were members of their all-rookie team. Westbrook already has more all NBA honors with seven while Jason Kidd finished with only six.
Kidd does currently have two more All-Star appearances than Westbrook’s eight. Westbrook is on pace to win his second assist title which will leave him with three fewer than Kidd. Westbrook has won MVP of the league, an accomplishment Kidd never had. However, Kidd was named rookie of the year while Russ wasn’t.
One player is almost unanimously loved by NBA fans and held in high regard among NBA circles. When you look at the numbers and accomplishments, you can not help but wonder how Russ gets some of the criticism he does.
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Love him or hate him, Westbrook is without a doubt a first ballot hall of fame player.