2014 NBA Top 20: #10 Russell Westbrook

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Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City (Getty Images)

Russell Westbrook, till last year, had never experienced an injury of any sorts to curtail his ascent to becoming an NBA perennial. That is taking into account his time at UCLA, high school and near veteran status tenure in the NBA – yes, nothing hindered his progress on the doctor’s table.

Having said that, Westbrook enjoyed one of his best years as a pure scoring point guard in 2012-13 for the Oklahoma City Thunder. If not for Chris Paul or Tony Parker, Westbrook could easily be categorised as the best point guard in the league for his influence on both offence and defence.

In 2012-13, Oklahoma City Thunder needed Westbrook to function as it became apparently clear that Kevin Durant could not single-handedly carry the team on his shoulders. The West was improving and Westbrook needed to team up with KD in order to certify Thunder’s dominance in the Conference.

As Westbrook hurt his leg, Thunder collapsed in the playoffs and was knocked out unceremoniously by the Memphis Grizzlies. Now the point guard is marking his return to the game, and the Thunder are hoping that he could guide them back to the Finals – a repeat of what happened in 2012.

In a city with just one professional franchise that is steadily growing to be the best in the NBA, it is success to be in the Finals for the Thunder, and anything else is considered to be a failure.

Westbrook isn’t just integral to the team solely because he is a phenomenon in the scoring department. He creates many of his plays himself, often driving in solo or attempting an early jump shot from the perimeter.

Out of all players in the Thunder, Westbrook had one of the least field goal percentages assisted. According to HoopData.com, Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka scored nearly 80% of their points thanks to an assist elsewhere but Westbrook averaged below a 40%.

Out of all his attributes, Westbrook isn’t just your everyday point guard who scores and defends. Darnell Mayberry, who covers the Thunder for The Oklahoman writes, “Westbrook’s style is not always pretty, but most of the time it’s effective. He competes like few other point guards in this league.”

His pace is tantalizing for those marking him while his agility is second to none. Now, add his freakish build, and it comes as no surprise why he averaged 23.2 PPG, 7.4 APG and 5.2 RPG in 2012-13 (espn.com).

Teams were worried as to whether they shun Westbrook out in the points column or hinder his assisting capability. Either way, there were games when the Thunder saw Russell Westbrook sail the ship single-handedly. More than 30 points a game, nearly 10 assists and rebounds with zero turnovers – Westbrook did it all in 2012-13.

Going into 2012-13, Westbrook was expected to make an impact in his team. Showcasing his talent in the 2012 NBA Finals, the point guard was rated highly going into the new season. And he didn’t disappoint.

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