Russell Westbrook: The Biggest All-NBA Snub

The NBA announced the 2015 All-NBA teams yesterday and for the most part, it’s what you would expect. The usual suspects like LeBron James and the newly crowned Most Valuable Player, Stephen Curry, topped the list as the only players unanimously voted into the First Team.

Along with James and Curry, the First Team is comprised of MVP runner-up James Harden, forward Anthony Davis and center Marc Gasol. Meanwhile, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, LaMarcus Aldridge, Pau Gasol and DeMarcus Cousins filled out the All-NBA Second Team. Finally, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Blake Griffin, Tim Duncan and DeAndre Jordan made up the Third Team.

To be honest, there isn’t really all that much arguing about the players voted in. They all had stellar seasons in their own right. The problem, however, is which teams the players were in – specifically Russell Westbrook.

It is fairly understandable that he finished fourth in the MVP voting since the Oklahoma City Thunder failed in their bid for a playoff berth. But for him to end up in the second team after the season he had, is absurd.

This past year, he averaged 28.1 points, 8.6 assists, 7.3 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 34.4 minutes per game in 67 games. Those numbers were good enough to place him atop the NBA scoring charts, first in rebounds among all players who are not centers or power forwards, fourth overall in assists and second overall in steals.

Essentially, Westbrook was a one-man wrecking crew every time he hit the floor. And to put it into historical context just how special his 2014-15 season was, he became only the fourth player in NBA history to post 27-plus points, eight-plus assists and seven-plus rebounds in a single season. The other three: Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan and LeBron James.

In addition to this, he led the league in triple-doubles as he tallied 11 such games. He could’ve actually had one more but one of his rebounds against the Miami Heat in March was taken away. Still, in the last 20 seasons, only Jason Kidd (13 in 2007-08, 12 in 2006-07) and Grant Hill (13 in 1996-97) have recorded more triple-doubles than Westbrook in a single season.

But if that wasn’t enough to “wow” you, simply take into consideration that only Michael Jordan has had as many 30-point triple-doubles (10) in a single season in the last 50 years. That is impressive. Plus, just to add some sprinkles on to it, during his record-breaking season, the seventh-year guard garnered numerous awards. He was also named 2015 Kia All-Star MVP after leading the West to a 163-158 win on 41 points, five rebounds and three steals in 26 minutes at Madison Square Garden.

So, to quickly recap, Russell Westbrook had a pretty outstanding season and deserved a lot more than just being named to the All-NBA Second Team (not that there is anything wrong with that). The question now is who should he have replaced?

In all honesty, James Harden, Steph Curry and LeBron James were pretty much a lock. The Beard tormented defenders as he led the Houston Rockets to the third best regular season record in franchise history — despite several key players like Dwight Howard and Terrence Jones missing large chunks of the season.

Curry was the best player on the best team during the regular season, plus you can’t exactly have an “All-NBA First Team” without the MVP. Then LeBron James was just, well, LeBron James.

Anthony Davis was also an all-round stud. He led the league with a player efficiency rating (PIE) of 19.2 and he was huge in getting New Orleans to the playoffs for the first time since the Chris Paul days, therefore he certainly deserves his spot. So, after all is said and done, we’re left with Marc Gasol.

Without question, the Memphis Grizzlies center has developed into one of the game’s premier big men and his name should be mentioned when talking about the best players in the game right now. Still, it is difficult to justify the inclusion of a player who posted fairly mediocre numbers (17.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game). Of course, Gasol’s impact goes much deeper than the numbers. Some of his contributions on both ends of the floor simply cannot be quantified.

However, Westbrook clearly had the better season and had a much better case for All-NBA First Team honors. Although it has to be said, none of this is Gasol’s fault – or even that of the voters.

Since 1956, the rules for the All-NBA voting stipulate that the team should comprise of two guards, two forwards and a center. However, shouldn’t the rules evolve in order to reflect what is happening in the game right now?

We are now in an era of basketball were the traditional outlines for positions have become increasingly blurred and matter very little. You now have “point guards” who lead the league in field goal attempts, “power forwards” running pick-and-rolls and teams playing four-guard line-up’s with a 6’7” “center.”

The point is, the game is changing and the NBA has to continue evolving with it — just as it did with the All-Star game voting. Since 2013, the All-Star teams feature three frontcourt players and two guards, as opposed to breaking down the frontcourt into a center and two forwards.

Similar changes have to be made to the All-NBA voting process, otherwise players like Russell Westbrook will continue to miss out on much deserved accolades.

Stats from NBA.com and Basketball-reference.com

Next: NBA: 5 Playoff Teams Facing Franchise-Altering Summers

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