Pre-2019-20 Rank: #6. Pre-2020-21 Rank: #6, Pre-2021-22 Season Rank: #6, Pre-2022-23 Season Rank: #7, Pre-2023-24 Rank: #8.
*Peak Period: 2013-14 to 2019-20.
At one time, Russell Westbrook was the master of the Triple-Double, a perennial MVP candidate (he won it in 2016-17), and proved he could lead a team deep into the playoffs. A member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, Westbrook was a nine-time All-NBA Selection, nine-time All-Star, two-time Scoring Champion, and three-time Assists Champion. All of that equates to the Point Guard entering the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on his first shot, and it should erase any narrative that the last three years have given.
Bluntly, when Westbrook joined the Lakers in 2021, his shot-making skills did not follow, and his overall playmaking skills have eroded. He begins this year in Denver as a reserve player on a contending team chasing the only accolade that has eluded him: an NBA Championship.
Regardless of what happens in Los Angeles and Denver in the future, the legacy he laid out in Oklahoma City was legendary.