I know many NBA fans hate this man for his image of stat padding and I want to talk about this issue as many fans are debating on whether it is true or not. Now let's get started already and talk some basketball guys.
First, lets talk about his achievements and skill sets.
Achievements
Russell Westbrook is a 7-time all-star, 2-time NBA all-star MVP, 2-time all-NBA first team and 5-time all-NBA second team. Westbrook won the Most Valuable Player award in 2017 where he averaged a triple double. This award tough because people don't understand why Westbrook won the award as his team has only managed to win 47 games and just only finished 6th seed in the Western Conference. This is an amazing achievement for Russ but he still fails to make it to the Finals without Durant and always knocks out of the playoffs early.
But right after his triple-double MVP season, he then finished with another triple-double average last season recording 25.4 points, 10.1 rebounds and 10.3 assists per game. That was insane, 2 consecutive seasons averaging a triple-double? That's not very easy to do in today's NBA. Russ was the only player to achieved this kind of feat.
Skillsets
Without a doubt, Russ is one of the most athletic point guards in NBA history and he will surely leave a mark in the NBA when he retires as one of the most explosive dunkers and one of the most unique point guards. One of the most impressive things about Russ is his passing ability. He's not a good passer, he's a "great" passer. Most of his assist comes in transition because when Russ is running and sprinting from a fast break he attracts a lot of defenders. Because of their desire to stop Russ from getting an easy layup they focus on him and that's when Russ will hit his guy for an easy basket when the defense collapses just to contain him.
Westbrook's speed is unmatched and it becomes an advantage for him every time he starts to develop a head of steam, opponents are tend to break down in defense and leaves a wide open man that Russ will surely find.
Russ is also excellent in the pick and roll and it becomes one of his major assets. When playing the pick and roll, Russ uses his quickness to get deep and attract the opposing big leaving his main defender and opening up his big. That's why Steven Adams is very efficient today it's all thanks to Russ.
Westbrook can also post up in the paint and he will always do it against smaller defender because he is so strong and can create an immediate mismatch. So defenders will have to double-team him and leave a wide open shooter. He's also a strong finisher and uses the euro step effectively than other players. Another thing I notice when he is attacking the rim, he loves to attack in the middle because there's a lot of space rather than attacking base line where there is less space and might turn it over.
But despite his unbelievable feat, many people are not impress with his performance because they were accusing him of stat padding. They say it was very obvious that Russ only cares about his own stats and triple-doubles and not having a desire in winning a championship. But Russ responded that he just came out every night all out and do the best he can do. He said he just wants to contribute every little time and every single possession for him is important thats why he's grabbing as many rebounds as he can and dishing as many assists as he could possibly get. Scoring is not a problem for him and defense is not also a liability with Russ. He an overall great player, he just sometimes make wrong decisions but that doesn't affect my respect for this man. I believe he has a reason in doing all this things and I don't agree with those people who says that Westbrook cares more about his stats than a championship, he's one of the most hardworking and one of the most competitive guys out there. I see the killer instinct Kobe has in Russ and I'm sure he's very eager to compete for a championship and all he think about is what's best for the team. So haters out there, let's just appreciate Westbrook's greatness and be glad that we are all witnessing history. At the end of the day, when the time comes that Russ is not playing anymore, we will all remember him as one of the most exciting players watch in NBA history.
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