2. Russell Westbrook
It's hard to use the right words to describe Westbrook's remarkable season to date: he is currently on track to become the first player since Oscar Robertson in 1962 to average a triple-double over the course of a season. Indeed, Russ is cruising towards an absolutely historic season with averages of 30.9 points, 10.5 assists, 10.4 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game. Granted, however, his efficiency has taken a hit, as his field goal percentage has dropped 2.6 percentage points from last year and his turnovers are up to 5.4 per game, albeit his three-point percentage has since risen; his current shooting splits are: 42.8/32.5/82.0. Still, Westbrook is crushing the competition with a 30.10 PER, and ranks just behind James Harden in Estimated Wins Added and Value Added.
Of course, it is the absence of Kevin Durant -- now in Golden State -- that makes such a jaw-dropping per-game stat line as the one above possible. However, Westbrook's Thunder have suffered without KD: despite the superstar point guard's best efforts, his team sits at a good-but-not-great 21-14 (0.600) and seventh in the West; a far cry from last year's 55-27 (0.671) mark, which was good for third in the conference and one game away from an appearance in the NBA Finals.
Westbrook has done far more than his fair share -- and more than even any gargantuan expectation placed upon him in the pre-season -- for this Oklahoma City team, and by the literal definition of the term, is very arguably the "Most Valuable Player" in basketball. Furthermore, that ridiculous stat line -- averaging a triple double with 30+ points per game to boot -- is absolutely not to be overlooked, and this season could very well go down in the history books as one of the greatest invididual performances ever if Russ keeps up the pace. However, with all of that being said, the turnovers and inefficient shooting continue to plague number zero, and I found the top spot difficult to give to someone whose team is 5.5 games back of another very deserving superstar...
It's hard to use the right words to describe Westbrook's remarkable season to date: he is currently on track to become the first player since Oscar Robertson in 1962 to average a triple-double over the course of a season. Indeed, Russ is cruising towards an absolutely historic season with averages of 30.9 points, 10.5 assists, 10.4 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game. Granted, however, his efficiency has taken a hit, as his field goal percentage has dropped 2.6 percentage points from last year and his turnovers are up to 5.4 per game, albeit his three-point percentage has since risen; his current shooting splits are: 42.8/32.5/82.0. Still, Westbrook is crushing the competition with a 30.10 PER, and ranks just behind James Harden in Estimated Wins Added and Value Added.
Of course, it is the absence of Kevin Durant -- now in Golden State -- that makes such a jaw-dropping per-game stat line as the one above possible. However, Westbrook's Thunder have suffered without KD: despite the superstar point guard's best efforts, his team sits at a good-but-not-great 21-14 (0.600) and seventh in the West; a far cry from last year's 55-27 (0.671) mark, which was good for third in the conference and one game away from an appearance in the NBA Finals.
Westbrook has done far more than his fair share -- and more than even any gargantuan expectation placed upon him in the pre-season -- for this Oklahoma City team, and by the literal definition of the term, is very arguably the "Most Valuable Player" in basketball. Furthermore, that ridiculous stat line -- averaging a triple double with 30+ points per game to boot -- is absolutely not to be overlooked, and this season could very well go down in the history books as one of the greatest invididual performances ever if Russ keeps up the pace. However, with all of that being said, the turnovers and inefficient shooting continue to plague number zero, and I found the top spot difficult to give to someone whose team is 5.5 games back of another very deserving superstar...
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