The moment Russell Westbrook entered the NBA, the league was put on notice. From his dunking abilities to his triple-double tendencies, Westbrook is a player that most NBA fans, if not all, have never seen. Sure we saw some high flying point guards in history such as Derrick Rose or Nate Robinson; however, Russell Westbrook some might argue is on a whole other stratosphere. The fact that Westbrook all these years has managed to stay healthy (for the most part) is quite extraordinary considering how most of these high flying athletic sensations usually tear an ACL or an Achillies, which could jeopardize a player's career. Although Dominique Wilkins managed to get better after his Achillies tear, Wilkins was an incredibly rare story of a player bouncing back higher than ever, which is something the NBA world prays to happen for Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson who have both suffered terrible injuries last season. For Russell Westbrook, however, he has managed to train his body to sustain his power on the court and developed discipline that helped him prevent such horrid injuries. With all the success and greatness Russell Westbrook has accomplished throughout his illustrious career, I scratched my head, thinking, Westbrook had a chance to be the greatest of all time!
Wow greatest of all-time, that is incredibly bold to state, especially when you have players such as Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and of course the great Kobe Bryant and many more. Even in today's NBA, Russell Westbrook isn't regarded as a top-five player, so why say such an absurd statement? Well, even though Westbrook has had many criticisms throughout his career, the one thing that everyone can say about him is, Westbrook has passion for the game, unlike no other. When he is laced up and ready to play, his eyes are focused on the target and enters a whole other realm of dominance and focus. His heart beats like a bull as he always charges inside the paint and attempts to obliterate his opponent. Westbrook has heart and passion to a point where when he loses any game; it could even be a pre-season game, it affects Westbrook's state of mind and later transitions into defeat. He takes every game as if it was life and death, hence why he is the way he is on the court. If I were defending Westbrook, I would be afraid because no one can match the ferocity and aggression that Russell Westbrook possesses. You would think that all of this passion and love that Westbrook has for basketball would have transitioned into a championship or two yet, that has not been the case.
When its all said and done, Russell Westbrook will be a player who will be known as a triple-double machine, an MVP, and a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but that's it. Even though Westbrook has many years ahead in his basketball career (if he remains healthy), I don't see him winning a championship due to his personality. Westbrook has heart and passion for the game and would do anything to help his team win yet; he is the sole reason why he hasn't won anything. A known fact about Russell Westbrook is, he is a ball-hog for his stats and focuses on stacking up his assists or rebounds or whatever other stat he chooses to chase. The flaw that Westbrook has on the court is, he is not willing to sacrifice his stat sheet for the betterment of his team. Now we have witnessed in history numerous players that had the same issue that prevented them from winning championships. Players such as Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard had the skillset to lead a team to a championship victory however lacked the heart and willingness to sacrifice their "star" moment for the betterment of their team. The same thing can be said for Russell Westbrook, who has had the passion and skill set to win a championship but always lacked the mindset of a true champion. If you look at recent NBA history, there is a reason why Stephen Curry and Dwyane Wade are regarded top three in their respected positions. Sure they have their accolades and their own statistical accomplishments and highlights but, their willingness to sacrifice for the betterment of their team is how Lebron James and Kevin Durant managed to attain their jewelry for the first time. On those Heat and Warriors teams, both Lebron James and Kevin Durant were the best players on their team, but it was Dwyane Wade and Stephen Curry that dictated whether or not they would win a championship. As good as Lebron James and Kevin Durant are, they both can't win a title alone and instead needed another player with incredible talent to compliment the star. Curry and Wade could have gone the selfish route but instead had a winning mentality and sacrificed their big moment to win. Russell Westbrook was in a similar situation as Stephen Curry and Dwyane Wade, which was, to be the glue piece and also a worthy superstar sidekick to the first option being Kevin Durant, however, Westbrook had a different opinion.
Even though Westbrook and Durant were both close friends during their stint with OKC, they weren't able to play together due to Westbrook's unwillingness to be that reliable sidekick. Once Durant left, Westbrook was given his chance many many times with Paul George and even had a chance to make it to the conference finals last season yet, history prevails and, in that process, reveals the true problem of the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was never Billy Donovan or even Sam Presti foolishly trading away James Harden; it was Russell Westbrook's unwillingness to sacrifice his moment or his precious stat sheet for the betterment of his team. The OKC Thunder should have defeated the Portland Trailblazers as they were the more completed team and also the healthier team in that series. Yet, they lost in five games and saw Damian Lillard wave goodbye to Russell Westbrook's final moment with the OKC Thunder. That will be regarded as one of the coldest moments in NBA history! Instead of playing like a team in that series, both Russell Westbrook and Paul George played hero basketball, which would blow up in front of their startled faces.
Russell Westbrook has a skillset unlike no other. The rivalry between Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook in terms of who is the better player reminds me a lot about the comparison between Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. For years, both Westbrook and Curry have bounced back and forth on this topic, yet Curry finally prevailed and stamped himself as the best point guard in the 2010's. The same thing can be said for Russell and Chamberlain during their rivalry as one appreciated winning and teamwork, whereas the other focused more on his own personal statistics and nothing more. Even though Chamberlain did win championships in his career, it is said that he would have been able to win almost triple the amount if it wasn't for Bill Russell and his dominance and, of course, Chamberlain's stubbornness.
Bill Simmons wrote a book titled, "The Book Of Basketball" where he dissects the misconceptions people may have between the rivalry of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. Arguments such as "Bill Russell had the better team" or "Wilt Chamberlain had no talent to work with" are all immediately shut down when reading this book. However, the one point that I want to focus on is something that both Wilt Chamberlain and Russell Westbrook have. Both players could have easily been regarded as the best players to ever play the game of basketball due to their skill and overall passion for the game. Yet, their mindset to the game and selfishness prevented them from such praise and instead are regarded as greats but not in the tier of G.O.A.T. Although Chamberlain is much higher then Westbrook, both of them were amazing on the statistical end but nothing else. It is said from Bill Simmons's incredible book that Wilt Chamberlain was a different player when he would reach four fouls as he would stop playing as aggressive to prevent him from breaking his own record of never fouling out of a game. Although that is an incredible fact about Wilt, it's only a fact that prevented him from winning not just more games, but also potential championships. In Bill Simmons's book, he references John Havlicek in the book called "Hondo," where Havlicek states that Wilt's idiocracy of this foolish quest never to foul out prevented him from being named the greatest of all-time. The same argument can be said for Westbrook's triple-double goal as he has shown time and time again how he sometimes dishes out a foolish or unnecessary pass or even boxes out his own teammate for a rebound! That right his own teammate!
If Westbrook wasn't this selfish of a player and instead focused on actually making the sacrifice play for his team, who knows what would have happened with the duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Although Westbrook always wants to help his team win and be the player to carry them, the harsh reality is, he simply cannot and will not achieve that goal because of his own self. His biggest opponent that he hasn't managed to defeat yet is his own self when you think about it. His tenacity on the court is extraordinarily rare; however, never transitioned to proper playoff victories. Russell Westbrook is a great regular season player but always disappears when it matters the most because he wants to be the hero of his team when in reality, he is the force that prevents his very goal. The reason why Stephen Curry or Dwyane Wade managed to win a championship with or without their superstar adversaries is that they focus on just winning and not their own personal ego. I believe if Westbrook didn't have these significant flaws in his game, he could have very well been in the G.O.A.T conversation. His skill is unmatched, and even though he lacks a reliable three-point jump shot, his leaping ability and athleticism would most likely make it up if he wasn't the selfish player he is. Westbrook has always had the skill to win a championship but, lacks the heart and mentality of what a champion truly is. The good news is, Westbrook isn't done yet and hopefully appreciates his previous mistakes and ends his curse with the Houston Rockets. I believe that Westbrook's main obstacle in his entire career was his stubbornness.
