The Big W

Since he was drafted by the The Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008, Westbrook has been known majorly for his atomic athleticism and ability to play at blazing speeds. There’s not much talk about how good Russell Westbrook has been over the last 2 years alone. With Kevin Durant departing to join the Golden State Warriors after losing a 3 to 1 lead in Western Conference Championship, it was highly anticipated that Russell Westbrook would finally be the driver’s seat of an entire franchise’s destiny. His efforts have been comparable to only one other athlete who was the first to accomplish the feat of averaging a Triple Double for an entire season.

In 2016 Russell Westbrook completed one of the greatest individual seasons the league has ever seen as he averaged 31.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 10.2 assists. It seems that Brodi has crossed over to the superstar platform completely with his MVP campaign, but the Houston Rockets prevented the one man show in OKC from gaining any traction in the playoff picture. The NBA free agency and trade culture has changed tremendously and leaves many hurt and confused, but there are high moments for some franchises in this dynamic. The whole point in having one single superstar, it seems, is to attract talent and experience to come help certain teams win and ultimately compete for the championship.

In that case, the adage of superstars is only consistent with the culture of the NBA where ass Paul George from the Indiana Pacers and Carmelo Anthony from the New York Knicks have been anything interesting this season. At 43-29, the Thunder are a team that has had it’s ups and downs, but this is a team that has beaten those star-studded Warriors twice this season in their four game series. Most relevantly put, Westbrook has continued to be on a tear, averaging 25.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 10.2 assists per game. One would assume that the winning culture is attributed to the added stars, but it is clear that Westbrook is the catalyst to how far the Thunder will go this season.

The Western Conference is full of hungry contenders this year, all seeking that most coveted ring, but OKC is standing out simply because the reigning MVP has not slowed down. The Thunder does not seem to care about whose good or whose picked to be the favorites. The spirit and the play of Brodi has propelled OKC to the highest pedigree of the Championship conversation. It remains to be seen how this team will perform in the playoffs, but one thing is for sure. Westbrook is arguably the best point guard in basketball and the squad he’s commanding with his copilots in Paul George and Carmelo Anthony are ready and equipped to beat any team in the NBA. Now Westbrook really is doing what he w