MUST READ: An Objective Take About The Underappreciated Westbrook (January 2021)

The timing for this is random but I still feel like saying this (this'll take a few minutes). Over the course of Russ' career, he's struggled with playing out of control, bad shot selection, a weak 3 point shot, and inefficiency. There have been times when Westbrook has "statpadded" (which is really overblown since it's not unusual for star players to do so). Most of his legacy is about his flaws which is illogical considering how great he's been. Anyone with basketball common sense knows that the most important skill by far is being able to create your own shot at an all star level. Other skills are important but this is the only one that can make a team with a relatively weak supporting cast much better than it actually is. For example, think of Iverson in '01. Russell did the same thing in '17 while winning 47 games. Westbrook averaged about 32/11/10 without a teammate who came close to making the all-star or all-NBA team. But the amount of people who don't think that he deserved the MVP award is criminal. Russ, LeBron, and Harden are the only players in modern NBA history that could compete for the scoring and assist title in a season. Yet I'm one of the very few people who realize how rare this is and how talented you have to be to do this. In fact, those 3 are the only ones in modern history who've won a scoring and assist title. Westbrook is the only one who's led the league in both categories multiple times. Being able to use your scoring ability to create shots for others is the 2nd most important skill by far. Most people say that he's a ball hog but he led the league in assists during the past decade. And regardless of the "stadpadding", he's undoubtedly the best rebounding guard in modern history. It's very beneficial when arguably the most athletic point guard ever jumpstarts a possession with a rebound. But too often the media enables fans to use emotion over logic when it comes to the NBA so should-be 1st ballot hall of fame players like Russell, Harden and Melo are labeled as "selfish" even though they've mastered the most important skill.