Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant is the new darling of the NBA. He just wrapped up his first NBA MVP award, led the league in scoring for the fourth time in five seasons, and made nearly every person with working tear ducts weep with his profound and emotional MVP acceptance speech.
He deserves every ounce of praise and every single award. He’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet and one of the most lethal scorers you’ll ever see. He’s one of my favorite players in the league.
At the end of the day though, nice guys, MVP awards and scoring titles don’t always add up to NBA championships.
Enter Russell Westbrook.
Westbrook is routinely criticized by fans and media as a selfish, loose-cannon type of player. Some say he shoots too much, turns the ball over too often, forces bad shots and plays out of control – and he does.
But so what? When it comes to winning a NBA title, Westbrook is more important than Durant. I know what you’re thinking. This guys is crazy. He’s an idiot. Probably. Maybe. That still doesn’t change the fact that what I said is true.
Take a gander at the post-Michael Jordan scoring kings: Allen Iverson (4), Shaquille O’Neal, Tracy McGrady(2), Kobe Bryant (2), LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Durant (4). Of the guys on that list, half have won NBA titles (O’Neal, Bryant, James and Wade).
However, only one managed to win it all in the same season in which he won the scoring title. That was O’Neal as a member of Los Angeles Lakers in the 1999-00 season. O’Neal’s wingman that season, the Black Mamba, received the same criticisms you hear about Westbrook.
Similar to Bryant, Westbrook is a pit bull on the basketball court. He has no fear. He can will his way to the basket, leap over bigger defenders, rebound over taller players. The three time all-star’s in-your-face, on-your-neck, kamikaze style of play compliments the smoother, more poetic style of play by MVPKD. It’s almost like a fusion of smooth jazz and heavy metal. The slim, silky Durant prefers to shoot over defenders. The stocky, explosive Westbrook would much rather go through them.
It’s Westbrook’s relentless pressure that ultimately helps to wear down defenses. By the end of the game, whoever is guarding him is ready to scream “No mas.” If you’re still not sold, just look at how easily the Thunder team was bounced out of the playoffs last year by the Memphis Grizzlies after Westbrook was injured.
Through 11 postseason games this year, Westbrook is averaging 26.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists. That means he’s flirting with triple-doubles every single night in the playoffs. For every ill-advised shot, like the three-pointer with 35 seconds left in Game 4, or the terrible one that ultimately won the game after he was fouled in Game 5, he makes a dozen plays that make the opposing team want to quit.
Westbrook is a fierce competitor and he won’t back down just because fans or media folks thinks he should defer to Durant. The Thunder can’t afford for Westbrook to defer to anybody. He’s the guy that pushes the team forward in tough times. He’s the guy they lean on when Durant has a bad stretch or a rough game. He’s the guy going 100 miles per hour whenever everyone else is taking a breather.
Throughout NBA history, championship teams have generally had someone to provide the gritty element. James and Wade provide the grit for the Heat. Tyson Chandler’s defense earned the Dallas Mavericks a championship. Bryant willed the Lakers to titles. Kevin Garnett did the dirty work in Boston. Tim Duncan and Bruce Bowen handled the grime in San Antonio and the list goes on and on.
If Durant is the President, Westbrook is Frank Underwood. He’s the guy that gets it done by any means necessary.
Good thing for the Thunder, Durant seems to understand how important Westbrook is for his title aspirations.
“An emotional guy who will run through a wall for me. I don’t take it for granted. There are days when I want to tackle you and tell you to snap out of it,” Durant stated during his MVP acceptance speech. “A lot of people put unfair criticism on you as a player, and I’m the first to have your back through it all.”
As long as Durant and his Thunder teammates ride with Westbrook, he won’t mind taking the heat if it will help to forge the way to a championship.
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