So when we started this League Pass MVP thing, I made myself one promise: the only person I would not pick for the award was Russell Westbrook.
My logic behind this was essentially that picking Russ seemed like a cop out. Of course he’s going to do jaw-dropping stuff all season – he’s essentially Kobe Bryant during those years where the Lakers were mediocre and Bean got his every night, only he’s a more willing facilitator and rebounder than Kobe was, well, ever. Remember how Kobe would randomly just take over games, but it was sometimes inefficient and his best teammates were dudes who weren’t even close to being as talented as him?
That’s essentially Westbrook this year. He’s not especially efficient, plus the team around him isn’t outstanding (although it’s better than the guys around Kobe from like 2004-07), so of course he’s going to put up ungodly numbers on a nightly basis. It just felt weird to reward someone for being the clear-cut best player on a team, one that needs him to put up the highest usage rate in the league by a lot.
But having said that, oh my god have you seen Russell Westbrook play basketball this month? How on earth could anyone argue that anyone other than him deserves to be the NBA’s League Pass Player of the Month for December? Saying he’s been fantastic sells short how amazing he’s been all season, but especially this month. The Thunder’s star is averaging 32.5 points, 10.9 rebounds, 10.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game in December while shooting 44.4 percent from the field (not great, but above his career average of 43.5 percent).
Westbrook is playing out of his cot dang mind. The whole “he’s averaging a triple-double” thing seems like it’s been overstated by everyone, because whenever Westbrook comes up, someone points out that he’s averaging a triple-double. This leads to it seeming like a crutch when discussing Westbrook, because it hides some of the flaws in his game.
For example, this is what his shot chart looks like, per NBASavant.com:
That’s not great, especially when compared to the league average on his beloved mid-range jump shot. He’s also tied for the league lead in turnovers per game (which, in fairness, will happen when the ball is in your hands as much as it’s in Westbrook’s).
All of this is part of the usual debate about Westbrook. Plenty of folks will ignore the fact that he puts up big numbers because his flaws are so prominent and can hurt the Thunder at times. This was especially true when Kevin Durant was in Oklahoma City and the whole “should Westbrook take more shots than KD?” argument popped up, like, three times a month.
Having said all of that, the Thunder are in a place where they need Westbrook to play like this. He is the engine that makes the team go, and so far, this has worked: Oklahoma City is 20-12 on the year, good for fifth in the Western Conference. Through 32 games last year, the Thunder were 22-10.
And yes, the fact that he’s averaging a triple-double can be used to hide Westbrook’s flaws as a player, but the guy is almost averaging 32-11-11 a game. It’s ridiculous. Maybe, just maybe, we’re at a point with Westbrook that we need to look past whatever flaws he has and just appreciate the fact that he’s been magnificent this year.
If you disagree with that, totally cool. At the very least, he’s the type of guy all basketball fans need to watch on a nightly basis because he’s always capable of doing the seemingly impossible. This makes him the League Pass MVP for this month. I promise I will not pick him again this year (okay, maybe).
Honorable Mentions
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker: Maybe LeBron James shouldn’t be too annoyed at these two, because they’ve been fantastic in December. Parker looks like the guy who was taken No. 2 overall in the draft, averaging 22.3 points on 53.8 shooting from the field this month. Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, has been playing out of his mind – he’s averaging 24.1 points, 9.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.9 steals, and 1.5 blocks. His shooting numbers (51.9 percent from the field, 35 percent from three, 80.2 percent from the free throw line) have also been great.
Joe Ingles: There’s something beautiful about Ingles’ extreme old man game. Did you know Ingles is leading the league in three-point shooting? And he knocked down 53.7 percent of his attempts from behind the arc in December? He plays like a dad at the YMCA, only if that dad got about 20 minutes per game for the sixth-best team in the Western Conference.
Isaiah Thomas: If you don’t love watching Thomas orchestrate the Celtics offense, I question how much you enjoy basketball. Watching any player who is completely fearless is always fun, but the 5’9 Thomas takes it to another level. His 28 points per game was third-best in the league in December. He’s wonderful.
James Harden: In a way, Harden is like Westbrook in that he frequently has the ball in his hands and his team’s offense revolves around him. As it turns out, putting a player with Harden’s skill set in Mike D’Antoni’s offense will lead to absurd numbers, as The Beard averaged 26.5 points, 11.8 assists, 8.3 boards, and 1.4 steals this month. Who would have thought?
Myles Turner: Kristaps Porzingis and Joel Embiid get most of the love, but Turner deserves recognition for being one of the Eastern Conference’s most entertaining young centers. He’s a fascinating stretch-5 in that he’s a really good shooter and a very good low post defender (opponents are shooting 60.9 percent at the rim against Turner, compared to 61.2 percent against Embiid and 61.3 percent against Porzingis). The Pacers are a work in progress, but Turner gives the team a second building block next to Paul George.
