Can Russell Westbrook at any point in the next 5 years be the best in the world?

[Milbuck]

Watching him throughout the playoffs, it's pretty obvious that he's up there with anyone in terms of pure raw talent. His biggest problem is balancing control, his passing/playmaking duties, and vision with his aggressiveness, athleticism, and scoring instincts. There are game where he's chucking like a maniac and people are setting up the trade proposals.

But it seems like every other game or so, he finds that perfect balance between control and explosiveness. He finds a way to manage his insane athleticism and his passing/playmaking ability, and honestly, he looks like an all-time great. Just these playoffs he's had 2 30-point triple doubles, and another monster 40 point 10 assist game against San Antonio. The guy might be the most unguardable player in the league today.

Even ignoring offense, his defense is reaching incredible levels. This year's playoffs he had Tony Parker shitting his pants on a nightly basis, and singlehandedly disrupted the Spurs offense like no other player in the playoffs. He just has relentless energy at all times, he's one of the few players these days who just doesn't relax, ever. He could be the best perimeter defensive point guard in the world in addition to his offense.

The guy has had stretches where he looks like he is on Lebron and Durant's level. Times when he looks not at all a sidekick, not a #2, but a legitimate top 3 player in a class above other stars like CP3, Love, Griffin, etc.

If he "figures it out" in the next few seasons and manages to mature mentally as a player while still being the most athletic point guard ever, does he have any shot of being the best player in the world? Because if Westbrook keeps maturing and keeps getting better, I can see him at his peak being better than 32-34 year old Lebron. Durant and probably Davis would be the guys standing in his way.

[Inferno]

Yeah, I've got Davis in his way.

[smoovegittar]

Doesn't have the brains or composure.

[LONGTIME]

Westbrook is unstoppable when he's firing on all cylinders. Focused and not over emotional.

[SillyRabbit]

He's a top 5 player right now.

I think the best he could possibly become is #3.

He likely stays top 5 for the better part of the next decade however.

The only way he reaches top 3 status is with a good coach. With Brooks he will never achieve his full potential.

[Rubio2Gasol]

It all depends on how he develops in the half court, because in the full court he's the best in the game.

But in the half court, while his tenacity brings him through, his skill sometimes let him down. A better coach who orients the offense properly would certainly help.

[elementally morale]

For a month or two, yes.

[Milbuck]

He's a top 5 player right now.

I think the best he could possibly become is #3.

He likely stays top 5 for the better part of the next decade however.

The only way he reaches top 3 status is with a good coach. With Brooks he will never achieve his full potential.
If he had, let's say, George Karl as his coach, where do you think he would top out? I think he'd better than prime Gary Payton.

[Kukoc]

No way. He gets to many bs calls.

Davis is the future

[JohnMax]

Westbrook is more talented than Kobe and is in the same league as Michael Jordan.

He just lacks the skills (shooting, ball handling, footwork).

[dc_chilling]

I don't think a 6'3 player can ever be the best in the world.

[beastee]

Him and Rose (pre-injury) are so similar. Both have stretches when they look absolutely invincible. Unfortunately both are 6'3" and can be boneheaded with the ball and shotjackers. Rose won an MVP while being the 2nd or 3rd best player in the league that year.
I would say that Westbrook could too, but ya know...his teammate is pretty good.

[navy]

Rose won an MVP while being the 2nd or 3rd best player in the league that year.
Lebron, Wade, Dirk, and Dwight were all clearly better than him...

[beastee]

Lebron, Wade, Dirk, and Dwight were all clearly better than him...

GTFO. Lebron was. No doubt. Wade was...in the playoffs, but in the Regular season he was great. Dwight was about equal to him. Dirk had better stats...barely, but did not help his team the way Derrick did. I still think people can't grasp that MVP means Most Valuable to their Team in the league....not just Best player in the NBA. Rose was to the Bulls that year in a big way, that is why he won it. Regardless, this thread is about RW, not your incessant ripping on Rose.

[navy]

Rose won an MVP while being the 2nd or 3rd best player in the league that year.


I still think people can't grasp that MVP means Most Valuable to their Team in the league....not just Best player in the NBA.
I never said Rose didnt deserve his MVP, he just wasnt the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th best player in the league.


:confusedshrug:

[knicksman]

meh if you think iverson was at any point top 5 in his career, Then he can be. But ai only managed to have 1 50+ win team in his career. In fact miller has more impact than him. He is the type of player that other players dont want to play because not only of his game but also attitude. Theres a reason why they started losing once he was reinserted into the lineup.

[JohnMax]

Westbrook has a SG body. Hes almost as wide as Harden. Which is why he overpowers strong PGs like Eric Bledsoe.

http://binaryapi.ap.org/b9a35fb3982e4e22bced492b5b392f21/512x.jpg

[stalkerforlife]

No.

And if he continues to impede Durant, he will be shipped out.

He's not a good enough scorer to chuck like he does, while icing out his teammates. He needs to learn to better involve his teammates since he's not good enough to score like Durant or Kobe, etc.

[SOD 21]

I sometimes wonder what Russell Westbrook would look like today if he had been coached by Gregg Popovich and being able to strike that perfect balance that the original poster mentions in this thread.

I remember Gregg Popovich being very tough on Tony Parker in his first few seasons in the league and look what he did with him, which is someone with far less physical talent and attributes as Russell Westbrook.

[DoodleDa]

Westbrook is more talented than Kobe and is in the same league as Michael Jordan.

He just lacks the skills (shooting, ball handling, footwork).

:roll:

How has no one seen this f*cking bullsh*t yet?

[Spurs5Rings2014]

:roll:

How has no one seen this f*cking bullsh*t yet?

How is he wrong doe?

:confusedshrug:

[Milbuck]

I sometimes wonder what Russell Westbrook would look like today if he had been coached by Gregg Popovich and being able to strike that perfect balance that the original poster mentions in this thread.

I remember Gregg Popovich being very tough on Tony Parker in his first few seasons in the league and look what he did with him, which is someone with far less physical talent and attributes as Russell Westbrook.
This is exactly what I'm talking about, in a different sense. If Westbrook ever developed into a more mature player, whether by a new coach or just by self-analysis, he'd be ridiculously good. Matured meaning he finds a way to balance his point guard duties and his scoring duties. He has all the skills - the passing, the vision, the ability to change speeds, drive, shoot, everything you want offensively out of your point guard, to go along with his insane athleticism. He has just yet to find a balance, right now he's far too skewed towards feeding himself. There's no real system in OKC, it's almost completely Durant iso and Westbrook iso. There's rarely any plays, and he's really never in a position to succeed as a playmaker. If he's ever able to match his physical gifts with his point guard abilities and do it consistently, I honestly think he could be knocking on the door for the best in the world. His impact on the game is just incredible.

Just thinking about that is scary..a Pop-developed Westbrook. Holy shit.

[All Net]

Top 3-5 for sure.

[russwest0]

I wish someone gif'd that video the tv broadcast showed of him playing defense vs the spurs.

His feet and hands were moving so quick and he was so locked in.

You never once saw LeBron or Wade playing that focused of defense in the playoffs.

[russwest0]

I sometimes wonder what Russell Westbrook would look like today if he had been coached by Gregg Popovich and being able to strike that perfect balance that the original poster mentions in this thread.

I remember Gregg Popovich being very tough on Tony Parker in his first few seasons in the league and look what he did with him, which is someone with far less physical talent and attributes as Russell Westbrook.

I always laugh when people also act like Popovich would hate to have Westbrook or something.

According to Kevin Martin, Durant (about Westbrook), and several others, Westbrook and Durant both show up to practice like 3-4 hours early every day. Kevin Martin said that there are no other players around the league doing that.

So Gregg Popovich wouldn't want the guy on his team because he forces too many shots in an offense that does nothing other than rely heavily on the stars and just tell them to "make plays?"

Lol Westbrook + Popovich would be a nasty duo.

One thing Westbrook clearly did in the postseason this year (and pretty much in 2012 as well) was establish himself as the best PG in the league. We'll see how he does next year though if he plays all 82 games and doesn't have as much rest before the postseason.

[RoundMoundOfReb]

No. Too stupid. He's top 10 but I don't see him being better than James/Durant even 5 years from now.

[russwest0]

I still lol at people who think that Westbrook is stupid but Kobe has one of the highest basketball IQ's in the league.

Do people not realize that Westbrook could have gotten accepted into Stanford solely off of academics?

"Bu but... he takes stupid shots in Scott Brooks' offense, he's stupid!"

:oldlol: :oldlol: :oldlol:

[RoundMoundOfReb]

I still lol at people who think that Westbrook is stupid but Kobe has one of the highest basketball IQ's in the league.

Do people not realize that Westbrook could have gotten accepted into Stanford solely off of academics?

"Bu but... he takes stupid shots in Scott Brooks' offense, he's stupid!"

:oldlol: :oldlol: :oldlol:

I of course mean stupid (in the bball IQ sense) in comparison with other elite players like Durant and LeBron.

Also, Kobe was far more skilled, had a better IQ and probably even a better athlete than Westbrook in his prime and he STILL arguably was never the best player in the league at any point. You don't realize how hard it is to gain that title.

[russwest0]

lol again, watch okc's offense and tell me that reggie jackson, kevin durant, jeremy lamb, etc, all don't do stupid shit.

KD's taken stupid shots with the game on the line, Reggie's done stupid shit. When we had Harden he had plenty of his moments.

Westbrook is the most alpha so he's most likely to take the lead but the idea that he has a bad bball IQ because he "only" averages 7 apg with Perk as the bigman and Sefolosha as the SG, and because he shoots "too many stupid shots" is hilarious.

Some of you people actually act like if he had a great coach that he'd still continue to play with no direction. :oldlol:

[Milbuck]

I of course mean stupid (in the bball IQ sense) in comparison with other elite players like Durant and LeBron.

Also, Kobe was far more skilled, had a better IQ and probably even a better athlete than Westbrook in his prime and he STILL arguably was never the best player in the league at any point. You don't realize how hard it is to gain that title.
Even with the "arguably" in there...:biggums:

[navy]

Kobe is a much better bad shot maker than Westbrook is. Plus Kobe can get any kind of shot off or use any type of move. Westbrook isnt close.

Im sorry but Westbrook is a chucker. 1-21 in overtimes tells you all you need to know. If the game is on the line he will shoot terrible shots. Sometimes it works and you praise his heart, sometimes he will take you right of a close game and you can only shake your head at what he thought he was doing.

[andremiller07]

I sometimes wonder what Russell Westbrook would look like today if he had been coached by Gregg Popovich and being able to strike that perfect balance that the original poster mentions in this thread.

I remember Gregg Popovich being very tough on Tony Parker in his first few seasons in the league and look what he did with him, which is someone with far less physical talent and attributes as Russell Westbrook.
Have the Spurs ever drafted a low IQ player in recent memory? The dumbest two players they probably did are James Anderson/George Hill and neither of them are on the roster and were moved shiftly when the Spurs had limited playoff success with them.

Sean Elliot was on the radio and said on draft night they have two boards one being there board and one that's 'NOT A SPUR' board (regardless of how talented you are), Westbrook would go on the not a Spur board.

[russwest0]

I still think he didn't get anywhere near the recognition he deserved for his defense in the playoffs this year.

Funny how guys like Paul George (who constantly boasts about his defense) get the good rep as great two way players, but Westbrook (who doesn't care what the media thinks about him) doesn't. Hell in the playoffs alone this year he made like 4 or 5 game saving or game winning plays for us on the defensive end. See:

Stealing the ball from Mike Conley down 2 with 6 seconds left in regulation and then scoring forcing OT.

Stealing the ball from Chris Paul down 2 with 14 seconds left, ended up hitting 3 FT's to win the game.

Scoring vs the Spurs and then with the game tied up and like 14 seconds left coming back into the huddle and instantly saying "I got Ginobli" and then Ginobli got the ball with an iso and Westbrook forced him into a tough jumper to force OT.

Westbrook :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:

[turnaroundJ]

He was the best in the world in the playoffs, despite his flaws. Although it wasn't a particularly good year for stars in the playoffs (Bran, KD, Wade, etc.), he was still clearly the best.

[Mr. Jabbar]

i don't think u can train IQ, at least not that much

dumbrook :bowdown: :bowdown:

hes alpa tho :pimp:

[RoundMoundOfReb]

Even with the "arguably" in there...:biggums:

I personally have Kobe for '06, '07, '08 but for '08 LeBron/Paul are arguable, for '07 Duncan is arguable and for '06 Wade/Duncan/Dirk/LeBron is arguable.

[AintNoSunshine]

Doesn't have the brains or composure.

Yep. He's peaked