Russell Westbrook is the most polarizing player in the NBA. 15 years into his career it’s safe to say that most people, either love him or hate him. And there are a lot of haters. And after his past season in a half with the Lakers you could say the media totally turned on him, even resorting to calling him Westbrick repeatedly, disrespecting his actual name. But is all of this hate actually justified. They told us Westbrook is a bad teammate, that he is selfish, that he turns the ball over way too much, and of course that he can’t help his team win a championship. The truth is, that fans have been lied to. Russell Westbrook is not only a future Hall of Famer, but he is actually this generation’s version of Allen Iverson, only he is even better. And here is why.

Westbrook was never supposed to be this good

To know where the lies began we have to know what Westbrook actually was throughout his career. And to be honest, he was never supposed to even make the NBA, much less to become a hall of famer. He entered high school at 5’8, didn’t start varsity until he was a junior, and graduated as only a 3 star recruit. It’s a shocker he ever even made it to UCLA, because their coaches saw something that the other teams didn’t. And at UCLA he helped them immediately to 2 final fours, finishing as Pac 12 defensive player of the year, as a sophomore, before entering the draft. And that right there is already a lie, that Westbrook doesn’t play defense. Allow me to explain, Westbrook played in the Pac 12 at the same time as Brook Lopez! He went on to make the All NBA Defensive second team. But it was Russell, not Brook who won defensive player of the year.

After only his sophomore season, Westbrook shocked the world by not only entering the NBA draft after two college seasons, but becoming a lottery pick. One draft scout said he might be as good as Monta Ellis, or as bad as Fred Jones. But Westbrook is neither, he is way better than both of them and nobody today is debating that. All because Oklahoma City saw a diamond in the rough and took a chance on Russell.

Westbrook is Allen Iverson 2.0

Yet Russell Westbrook is a different kind of player, just like Allen Iverson and that is what he really is, this generation’s version of Allen Iverson, only he is better. Before I go any further I have to point out that Allen Iverson played in an era where there was no social media or even reliable Wi-Fi. What I am actually saying is that most Iverson fans don't really remember what he was the same way we pay attention to players today. Iverson was a positionless player before positionless basketball existed not because he could switch everything on defense but because he did not conform to any actual position. He wasn’t a point guard or a shooting guard, he was a great athlete and a scorer. And if we were being honest, that should have been his actual position on the court. Instead the sixers made him a 6 foot shooting guard, hiding him on defense in the half court and letting him play the passing lanes, where he got more steals than almost anyone. He played harder than anyone else for every minute he was out there, and he made a lot of mistakes, the word we are looking for here is called “turnovers”. But the good always outweighed the bad so they left him on the court so long as he played for the 76ers, who knew exactly what he was.

Now compare everything I just said to Westbrook. He plays harder than anyone else on the court, is a great athlete, relentless on offense, and will make mistakes as the game goes on. But the good outweighs the bad. Which is why the Thunder let him stay on the court, because they knew exactly what he was.

You don’t have to believe in statistics but Westbrook is basically a better Iverson. He averaged a triple double three times which requires no explanation, led the league in assists three times, something Iverson never came close to, and they turn the ball over about the same for their career, so you get way more assists for ever mess up. Westbrook shot slightly hire percentages from the field for his career while Iverson only beat him in three point field goal percentage by .8 percent. Not 8 percent, .8 percent, so lets call that about the same. Westbrook even led the league in PER to win his MVP award. You don’t have to like the stat, but Jordan and LeBron have led the league in that stat more than any player in the modern era, so yeah it means you’re actually killing it out there. Iverson scored 24.0 in his MVP season, and 25.9 as his career best in 2006. Westbrook had 3 seasons that were all better than Iverson’s best with the highest ranking 30.6.

And the most important stat of all is that Westbrook this year, was starting for LA Clippers, after the Lakers soap opera finally came to a close, and is averaging nearly 30 points per game against the Kevin Durant led Suns. By this point in Iverson’s career, he had already been forced to retire, mid-season.

Westbrook never played on great teams once Durant left

Now I’m aware that the biggest reason why people hate on Westbrook is because he hasn’t won a championship. But that’s not the full story. If it was, then why is nobody hating on Derrick Rose, whom if you haven’t been paying attention, is still technically playing in the NBA. Westbrook won the MVP and played at such a high level for 3 straight seasons, that we actually know he was one of the NBA’s absolute best players. So blaming him for not winning is a compliment. When you are truly great, like Iverson, Charles Barkley, or even Karl Malone, you are supposed to win at least one. The fact that Westbrook hasn’t is worth mentioning. Remember Tracy McGrady never even got out the first round. But if you take a closer look, you will realize that with Durant the Thunder made the NBA Finals, and were one game away from it before losing to the future NBA champion Warriors. The Thunder were just fine winning until that point. And after Durant left, Westbrook has never had a team with a legitimate shot at winning a championship.

For the years after Durant left, Westbrook never again played with an All Star until Paul George arrived. The starting shooting guards the Thunder tried out next to Westbrook were so bad, that none of them are still in the league today. Terrance Ferguson, Alex Abrines, and Andre Roberson are all out of the NBA, and you forgot they were ever even there to begin with by now. And once Paul George arrived, that only lasted 2 years. That team wasn’t going to beat the Warriors with Durant, who actually won the west both seasons. And in their closeout games when they did lose, Westbrook put up amazing numbers, it was Paul George who fell short, prompting Skip Bayless who loves to be a hater, to start calling him George Paul instead of Paul George.

After he was traded to Houston, Westbrook actually played near MVP caliber basketball for the entire second half of the season. He actually got hurt shortly before the playoffs but they still made the second round and lost to the NBA champion Lakers. Remember that Houston team played PJ Tucker who is 6 foot 6 at center, against MVP level Anthony Davis… so let’s be honest what did you expect? From there he was traded to the Wizards who gave up John Wall and a first round pick to get him. Westbrook once again had to play near MVP caliber basketball for the entire second half of the season just to get them into the playoffs, where once again Bradley Beal was the only legit NBA starter on his team. Literally nobody else on their roster is a starter in the NBA today.

The Bottom Line

The Lakers didn’t win with Russ, but that’s because they asked him to play point guard, rather than his actual position which is an athletic playmaker. Admittedly they couldn’t because that is the same thing LeBron James does, and he is way better at it for obvious reason. But don’t believe the lies. Westbrook didn’t make a comeback with the Clippers. The truth is that he never left. Gilbert Arenas said it this way, what are you more afraid of? A lion that is in the zoo, or a lion that is running wild? Westbrook is a lion but Frank Vogel tried to put him in the zoo as soon as he got to the Lakers. The Clippers and Ty Lue however, get the point. You have to let the lion run wild for its instincts as a predator to actually kick in. It’s too bad Kawhi Leonard and Paul George didn’t stay healthy long enough this season. Because since Durant left Oklahoma City, this is actually the best team Westbrook has ever played for, and the type of team he actually deserves. Let’s hope he has enough in the tank to run it back once again, because he’s earned that much.

KNOW THE GAME. WIN THE GAME.

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