OKC’s playoff departure (once again in the first round) puts a harsh spotlight on Russell Westbrook.
Please excuse me for jumping right into this story without any significant introduction. I have been telling anyone who would listen over the past eight years or so that Russell Westbrook is the modern day Allen Iverson.
Iverson was a generational talent, a guy who barely scratched the measuring tape at 6’1, but who could single-handedly outscore an entire team in any given quarter of a basketball game. The biggest blemish on Iverson’s Hall of Fame career–if you can call it a scratch–is that he never made any of his teammates better.
Enter Russell Westbrook.
Many may argue that any guy, like Westbrook, who averaged double-digit assists for three consecutive seasons, has to be one of the most unselfish players in the NBA. I beg to differ.
Even during the years that he shared the court in OKC with Kevin Durant, I never liked the way Westbrook led the team. While many in the game marveled at his ability to play at a neck-jerking pace, some of those same folks privately questioned his ability to adapt to game situations.
When Kevin Durant departed for greener pastures, it leaked out that the biggest reason he escaped from “Westbrook Island” was the belief that a championship wasn’t possible with Westbrook controlling the team.
I’ve echoed those sentiments for years.
Courtesy: SI.com
When you make a case for the ‘Alpha Dog’ of the team, most of the boxes on your resume are checked off as ‘exceptional’–leader, competitor, shooter, basketball IQ, ability to be coached, adapts well to adjustments, etc. But the only box to be checked off for Westbrook is ‘exceptional competitor.’
Westbrook hasn’t been able to advance his team past the first round of the playoffs since Durant’s departure. He lost to a Houston team without Chris Paul. He lost to a Utah team that was mainly led by a rookie guard, Donovan Mitchell.
And his list of former teammates reads like a who’s who of the NBA–two former league MVPs (Harden and Durant), all-star Victor Oladipo, Serge Ibaka, and superstar George. At what point does it become apparent that those great players are frustrated playing with Westbrook? Then, they flourish once they leave OKC?
It’s something to ponder…as Westbrook, and his teammates go fishing. Food for thought, fans.
