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Can Russell Westbrook be NBA's Top PG?

Recently, Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks stated that he believes his point guard Russell Westbrook is the NBA’s best. When asked the same question, Westbrook himself agreed with his coach, proclaiming himself to be the league’s top point guard. Last season Westbrook was left off the All-NBA teams after three straight years making the second team, but that was mostly because of the Thunder guard missing 36 games due to injury.

Still it was a surprise to many that Westbrook was left off the All-NBA teams, with top guard honors going to Paul, James Harden, Steph Curry, Tony Parker, Damian Lillard, and Goran Dragic. Westbrook had a bit of a down year last year due to injury, but still managed to put up solid per game averages of 21.8 pts, 6.9 asts, and 5.7 rbs, with a PER of 24.7. The numbers he put up on a second place OKC Thunder team were on par with those point guards who made ALL-NBA teams like Parker (16.7 pts, 2.3 rbs, 5.7 asts), Lillard (20.7, 3.3, 6), and Dragic (20.3, 3.2, 5.9). Chris Paul again had a fantastic season (19.1, 4.3, 10.7) and Curry (24, 4.3, 8.5) is a rising star whose name will be in the best point discussion for years.

Westbrook is certainly one of the most talented players in the league, but often is criticized for his shot selection and decision making. Recently, Sports Illustrated ranked Westbrook number four in their list of the top 100 NBA players for this upcoming season, just one spot shy of Chris Paul, thought of by many as the NBA’s top point guard. This top 100 ranking puts Westbrook in good company and at least in a battle with Paul for the league’s top spot, so is Russell Westbrook really the NBA’s top point guard already, as Brooks has suggested, and if not, can he take over what many think is Paul‘s spot among the NBA‘s best their position?

Westbrook is entering his seventh NBA season and has been an all-star three times, missing out on last year’s contest partly because of injury and partly because of a Western Conference loaded with backcourt studs. In his first six seasons, however he has averaged over 20 points, nearly 7 assists and near 5 rebounds per game and has been selected to three All-NBA selections as noted above. How does this compare to Paul’s first six seasons? CP3 averaged 18.7 points, 9.9 assists, and 4.6 rebounds while making four all-star teams and was selected to three All-NBA teams as well as three all defensive teams. These numbers shouldn’t come as a surprise, with Paul being more of a pass-first point guard and Westbrook a more potent scoring threat.

Where Westbrook falls behind Paul is on the defensive side, where Paul is among the league leaders in steals every season, while Westbrook sometimes loses his man and perhaps gambles for steals too often. Westbrook has the potential to be a great defender with his athleticism however and the numbers do show that Westbrook’s first years in the league are comparable to today’s top point guards. The following three seasons of Paul’s career has seen him blossom into the NBA’s elite floor general in Los Angeles and he has been a mainstay on first team All-NBA. The next few years will determine how we perceive Westbrook when comparing him to the leagues elite.

Two wild cards who have missed significant time the last couple seasons are former MVP Derrick Rose and also Rajon Rondo who, when healthy, are All-NBA point guards. All in all, looking at the seasons among point guards, Westbrook’s 2013-14 campaign was amongst the league’s best last year.

A large part of being considered the best in the NBA is playoff success, and this is where the best point guard debate gets murky when debating whether stats or team success ultimately determines who is greatest. Chris Paul has yet to experience any kind of playoff success compared to his regular season dominance and that has been the biggest knock on his career thus far. Among point guards, Tony Parker is the clear choice when it comes to playoff success, with four rings and an Finals MVP to his name. He is always mentioned in the top point guard debate because he knows how to win and he led teams on long playoffs runs to championships. Part of that is the Spurs organization and Tim Duncan, but Parker is great. Westbrook has had some playoff success, with a Finals appearance alongside Kevin Durant, but the Thunder have come up short the last couple seasons due to injuries to Westbrook and more recently to Serge Ibaka, resulting in playoff knockouts. If Westbrook can help Durant finally get over the hump in a loaded Western Conference and win a championship or two, that will go a long way in proving he is the league’s top point guard.

So far in his career Westbrook has had some high highs and low lows, with a lot of criticism coming his way for shot selection and not giving Durant the ball enough, but he has been one of the most productive NBA players since he has entered the league, let alone point guards. With his athleticism he should be able to improve on his defense and remain one of the league’s top rebounding guards and if healthy will continue to be among the league leaders in scoring and assists. It was after the sixth season that Chris Paul really made a leap into a perennial All-NBA first teamer and established himself as the NBA’s best. If Westbrook can make some better decisions with the ball to help his turnover numbers, improve on his defense, and help Durant get his first ring, there is no reason why he can’t be considered the NBA’s point guard, just like Scott Brooks says.

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