3 worst seasons of Russell Westbrook's NBA career in terms of turnovers per game
Russell Westbrook has gotten off to a rocky start with the LA Lakers, as the former NBA MVP is finding it difficult to fit in with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The LA Lakers are currently 1-2 on the season, and out of the top 15 in both Offensive and Defensive Rating in the NBA.
Westbrook is averaging a career-low 12 points per game during the 2021-22 NBA season. He has made only 34% of his field goals so far. While it is still early days, Westbrook has not started his stint with the LA Lakers well, but he should be able to address his woes as the season progresses.
Russell Westbrook in his first 3 games as a Laker (per gm):
🔷 12 points
🔷 7.7 rebounds
🔷 8.7 assists
🔷 2.0 steals
🔶 34.9% FG
🔶 41.7% FT
🔶 5.7 turnovers
Playing 35.5 mins per game and putting up big stats in some categories, but the poor shooting + TOs crush you in 9-cat
Speaking of woes, Russell Westbrook has a big weakness in terms of protecting the basketball, as he has led the league four times in total turnovers.
Russell Westbrook entered the 2021-22 NBA season as the all-time leader in games with at least five turnovers, with 375. He has pushed that number to 376 now. He is currently averaging 5.7 turnovers per game (the worst of his career) after having nine against the Memphis Grizzlies in the LA Lakers' most recent outing.
The high number of turnovers is also a testament to how much a player handles the basketball during a game. With Russell Westbrook ranking second in NBA history in Usage Rating, turnover numbers are high.
On that note, here's a look at Russell Westbrook's three worst campaigns in terms of turnovers per game. Without further ado, let's get started:
#3 2020-21 NBA season
Last season, Russell Westbrook had a good campaign (not great) with the Washington Wizards, despite showing some worrying tendencies. He helped the team enter the playoffs through the play-in tournament, and averaged a triple-double for the fourth time in his career (fourth in the last five seasons).
He averaged 22.2 points, 11.5 rebounds and 11.7 assists per game in the 2020-21 regular season, with a 43/31/65 shooting split. However, the downside was in the turnover area, with Westbrook averaging 4.8 turnovers per game.
Westbrook had 312 total turnovers, which was most in the NBA that season, marking the fourth time he led the league in that category.
#2 2017-18 NBA season
Coming off a season in which he won his NBA MVP award, Russell Westbrook backed that up by averaging another triple-double. In the process, he led the OKC Thunder to the playoffs, alongside Paul George and Carmelo Anthony.
Although the team didn't deliver on expectations, Westbrook had an extraordinary campaign. He put up 25.4 points, 10.1 rebounds and 10.3 assists per game with 44/29/73 shooting splits.
Despite all the good work he did, Westbrook averaged 4.8 turnovers per game in the 2017-18 NBA season. He was second in the NBA in Usage Percentage, which also increased his turnovers (he had 381 turnovers in the season, the mos in the league).
#1 2016-17 NBA season
On his way to averaging a stunning triple-double and winning the NBA MVP award in the 2016-17 season, Westbrook also led the league in turnovers per game.
Obviously, it wasn't a testament only to the poor decisions he took in offense, but also his high Usage Rating. He controlled absolutely every possession of the OKC Thunder during that year, the first since Kevin Durant's departure to the Golden State Warriors.
During that season, Russell Westbrook became the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season. Oscar Robertson first did so in the 1961-62 NBA season.
He led the league in scoring with 31.6 points per game, and put up 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game with a 42/34/84 shooting split during the regular season. Westbrook also averaged 5.4 turnovers per game that campaign, his most for an entire regular season, and had a career-worst 438 total turnovers as well.
Turnovers per game are not always indicative of poor offensive basketball. As we have mentioned before, Usage rating plays a huge role in that. Westbrook has the highest turnovers per game in NBA history (with at least 400 games played) at 4.1. Meanwhile, Magic Johnson, who is widely recognized as the greatest point guard in NBA history, is second with 3.9.
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