NBA Power Rankings: The Top 10 Point Guards in the NBA
By HoopDon
3.) Russell Westbrook (Blend = 17.2)
May 25, 2014; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) goes up for a dunk against the San Antonio Spurs in game three of the Western Conference Finals of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Oklahoma City won 106-97. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
Advanced Stats: PER=24.7, Win Shares=.178, RPM=5.03, Wins Produced=.162, ASPM=5.81
Its often said that Westbrook is a shooting guard masquerading as a point guard, and while possibly true, that doesn’t change the fact that he’s awesome. Despite sharing the ball with MVP Kevin Durant, Westbrook is 5th in assist percentage among all players with at least 500 minutes played. He ranks first among guards in terms of points per 100 possessions, and has managed to increase his true-shooting percentage to a respectable 54.5%.
That being said, his decision making is still a problem. Frequent mental lapses result in too many unnecessary turnovers and bad shots. This issue even affects Westbrook’s defense, where for every dynamic steal there occurs a missed rotation, making Russell, on balance, a mediocre defender. If he can reign in his reckless play however, there’s no reason Westbrook can’t eventually rank number one on this list.