Do you respect Russell Westbrook's assists total?

[Street Hunger]

All-time NBA assists leaders:

9) Isiah Thomas
10) Russell Westbrook
11) Gary Payton

I've never loved Westbrook as a pure passer PG, but that's also a historic ton of assists over a career.

[bison]

It’s probably the most respectable aspect of his game. Since he’s been on the lakers it’s really the only thing he does well. Not in terms of pure passing but he’s always been great and drawing defenses and bird feeding guys in the paint.

[imdaman99]

He's not a pure passer. He wasn't even a PG coming out of college. But he made all the rest of his teammates look better. KD won an MVP, PG had his best season, Harden had his best scoring season. I don't think he steps on his better teammates toes... but whether or not he made the teams better with that style is debatable. It'a a shame, I was wrong kblaze, I thought Russ could be a part of a championship team.

[j3lademaster]

He's not a pure passer. He wasn't even a PG coming out of college. But he made all the rest of his teammates look better. KD won an MVP, PG had his best season, Harden had his best scoring season. I don't think he steps on his better teammates toes... but whether or not he made the teams better with that style is debatable. It'a a shame, I was wrong kblaze, I thought Russ could be a part of a championship team.
Durant’s mvp season is a bad example since WB missed half the season.

[iamgine]

Is there any reason not to respect a person's total assists? :lol

[ImKobe]

Of course. He's a great playmaker despite all his flaws. His rebounding & his passing are both elite but it's everything else about his game that just infuriates me and every other Laker fan.

[Jasper]

100%

/

[Im Still Ballin]

Is there any reason not to respect a person's total assists? :lol

Stats need context to help measure impact or skill. Not all assists are generated the same. Simply looking at assists and turnovers will not give you the best understanding of how good of a playmaker one is. The eye test is key. Contextualizing stats helps to bridge the gap.

[Im Still Ballin]

He's not a pure passer. He wasn't even a PG coming out of college. But he made all the rest of his teammates look better. KD won an MVP, PG had his best season, Harden had his best scoring season. I don't think he steps on his better teammates toes... but whether or not he made the teams better with that style is debatable. It'a a shame, I was wrong kblaze, I thought Russ could be a part of a championship team.

He definitely made his teams better and helped elevate KD and PG. Russ has some of the highest box creation numbers in NBA history. It's an advanced statistic that measures how many open shots a player generates for his teammates. Russ' MVP season is the record.

Russell could definitely be part of a championship team. I'm not sure where you got that idea -- he was on high-level rosters from 2011 to 2016; had lots of success. The margin between winning and losing is thin. OKC could've won in '12, '13, '14, and '16. Injuries and games coming down to one or two possessions were the difference.

The problem with Russ right now is simply age. He's lost a step and it shows. He's not able to blow by defenders and rocket into the paint anymore. His explosive slashing game opened up passing lanes. He's still a great passer but his playmaking is influenced by his athletic decline.

[bizil]

Here's the thing with Russ... Career wise, I respect ALL THE NUMBERS he puts up. If getting a triple double season was easy, EVERYBODY would have done it. So easy pick for NBA top 75. Will be an easy 1st ballot HOFer.

The PROBLEM COMES when comparing him to the other great PG's. Where you have great floor generals like Magic, Oscar, Isiah, Nash, CP3, Stockton, Kidd, etc. Or you have great two way PG's like CP3, Payton, and Frazier. Or the GOAT shooter in Steph. Russ is NONE OF THESE THINGS! Even though he has great dime numbers, he was never ELITE at passing his guys open like the other great floor generals. He was never an elite defender. And his efficiency shooting the rock was never elite. So when you are a PG, and have the rock in your hands so much, these things are MORE GLARING than any other position.

Was his peak DOMINANT ENOUGH to be considered better peak wise than some of the PG's I mentioned? Sure in some people's opinion. But if you are dominant scorer, MOST OF THEM would rather have a great floor general passing them the rock. Or a Steph who doesn't need to be ball dominant to dominate games scoring.

[Street Hunger]

Westbrook isn't a "pure PG" or anything even close. But that's a lot of assists.