Kevin Durant is still great, which wasn't a given following two foot injuries. He's averaging 29 points, six rebounds and two assists while shooting 49 percent from the floor. In the Thunder's loss against the Raptors Wednesday, he had 27 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks. Those are MVP-caliber numbers.
Kevin Durant is right. Russell Westbrook is the Thunder’s ‘best player’
Russell Westbrook has played better than Kevin Durant ... at least so far this season.
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Yet he freely admitted he isn’t the team’s best player.
“We had something on that pick and roll,” Durant told reporters after the game. “And we spaced the floor and we let our best player, Russell [Westbrook] just control the game.”
It's possible Durant was just talking about that specific game against the Raptors. Before a rough fourth quarter in which he went 1-for-8 and had two turnovers, Westbrook had 18 points on 13 shots along with 15 assists. He was killing Toronto in the pick and roll and getting his teammates, including Durant, easy shots.
But if Durant actually means that Westbrook is the Thunder’s best player this season, he wouldn’t be wrong either. The statement, however interesting coming from a former MVP, isn’t remotely controversial.
This season, Westbrook is averaging 28 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and two steals a game while shooting the same percentage as Durant from the floor. His six turnovers per game are high, but considering his assists are resulting in a league-leading 24 points per game and he’s only getting assisted on 17 percent of his made field goals, they are more than a fair price to pay for such elite shot creation.
He also gets back a fair amount of the possessions he squanders thanks to his disruptive defense.
Not only is Westbrook better than Durant in several statistical categories, but he’s also having a bigger impact at the team level. Oklahoma City is over 20 points better with Westbrook on the court as opposed to off. Surprisingly, they’ve fared slightly better with Durant resting, though the sample is too tiny to make any definitive conclusions.
Right now, however, Westbrook is the most important player on OKC’s roster. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Durant believes it too.
Things could change, of course. Durant is having a terrific scoring season and should only get better -- especially on defense -- as the games go by and he shakes off the rust from a lost season. Westbrook is leading the league in usage percentage with a bullet and sustaining his efficiency with such a huge burden might not be possible. The roles could reverse.
For now, however, Westbrook remains the Thunder’s leader and, like Durant said, their best player.
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