OKC Thunder ability to match their own historical benchmark will define future
Russell Westbrook surprising dominance over trio selected ahead of him:
Westbrook was selected fourth behind Derrick Rose (Bulls), Michael Beasley (Heat), and O.J. Mayo (picked by Wolves in trade-swap with Grizzlies for Kevin Love). The Brodie’s draft class was the most interesting of the three given Presti also selected Serge Ibaka (24th) while Danilo Gallinari went 6th (Knicks).
Presti went out on a limb with the Westbrook selection as many had him going in the lottery but much lower. Looking back the risk Presti took was worth it especially considering Rose’s injury history plus Beasley and Mayo not coming close to The Brodie’s accomplishments.
While many point to Westbrook’s knees and how his game won’t age well it’s interesting to note he’s played only four fewer games than Durant despite being drafted the year after. Russ has played 878 regular-season games and 106 playoff games for a cumulative total of 984 matches.
In an examination of the trio selected ahead of Westbrook, the argument can be made Presti got the best of the class. While Rose was a generational talent his poor fortune with injuries pushes Westbrook ahead in terms of the overall career to this point. Beasley and Mayo each had personal issues that impacted their careers.
The following notes a statistical comparison of the quartet. It outlines the four core stats of points, assists, rebounds, and steals, plus the shooting splits efficiency of field goals (FG%), 3-pointers (3P%), and free throws (FT%) by percentage. The final category notes games played broken down by regular season, playoffs, resulting in the cumulative total of games over these players 12 seasons.
Core Stats:
In every single major stat category, Westbrook has the best career tallies.
Westbrook: 23.2 points, 8.3 assists, 7.1 rebounds, 1.7steals
Rose: 18.8 points, 5.6 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 0.8 steals
Beasley: 12.4 points, 1.3 assists, 4. 7 rebounds, 0.6 steals
Mayo: 13.8 points, 3.1 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 1.0 steals
Shooting Split Efficiencies:
Field goal percent (FG%) | 3-point percent (3PT%) | Free Throw percent (FT%))
While many would presume Westbrook would have the worst shooting efficiencies in this group the reality is Mayo, Rose, and Beasley are the worst in one of each of the categories.
Westbrook: FG: 43.7% | 3P: 30.5% | FT: 79.9%
Rose: FG: 45.6% | 3P: 30.4% | FT: 82.7%
Beasley: FG: 46.5% | 3P: 34.9% | FT: 75.9%
Mayo: FG: 42.9% | 3P: 37.3% | FT: 82.0%
Games played in their 12 seasons:
Regular season (RS) | Playoffs (P) | Cumulative (C)
Perhaps the most remarkable factor of Westbrook’s career and the trio selected ahead of him is the total number of games played.
Westbrook: RS: 878 + P: 106 = C: 984
Rose: RS: 596 + P: 46 = C: 642
Beasley: RS: 609 + P: 25 = C: 634
Mayo: RS: 547 + P: 26 = C: 573
In consideration of Westbrook’s all-out aggressive style it’s almost unfathomable he resembles more of an iron man than many of his peers who have been injury-plagued. Even the trade last season with Houston was dubbed as an upgrade for the Rockets given Paul’s history of injuries.
In his draft group and the players selected ahead, there is no comparison. Westbrook has played 342 more games than the nearest in the group who (also surprisingly) is Rose.