Just 4 years ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder were in the NBA finals with James Harden, Serge Ibaka, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Fast-forward to today and now Russell Westbrook is the lone survivor. Durant is in Golden State, Harden is in Houston and Ibaka is in Orlando. Although it seems that the Thunders have fallen out of the championship picture, Thunder fans still shouldn’t be worried about Russell Westbrook and the team next year.
Russell Westbrook is a stat stuffer. He led in triple doubles with 18 and nearly averaged a triple double last season. Yes, one of top three players in basketball, Kevin Durant, was there and helped Westbrook, but look at what Westbrook did the year prior. Durant only played 27 games during the 2014-2015 season, and Westbrook carried the team when Durant was out, averaging 28 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds according to ESPN. Yes, that team did miss the playoffs but look at the roster. Durant only played 27 games, Westbrook himself missed games early in the season too, and they had to sign seven free-agent players because of their depleted roster.
A team that was supposed to be in the championship contenders barely missed the playoffs because of all the injuries and lack of talent. Now, the Thunder have built a team around Westbrook to work with. You have Steven Adams and Victor Oladipo who are nice young players entering contract years and each of them want to show their worth, Enes Kanter an offensive option, a rookie in Domantas Sabonis, and also Andre Roberson. If Westbrook nearly averaged a triple double with a depleted roster with free-agent players, he can do that and more with a roster that was built around him.
Wouldn’t be a total surprise if the guy that nearly averaged a triple double and led the in triple doubles in the last two seasons actually averages a triple double for an entire season, which hasn’t been seen since Oscar Robertson in the 1960s. If the Thunder make the Western Conference playoffs after losing Durant and Ibaka, Westbrook should be the next NBA MVP.