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Why Curry vs. Westbrook Is The NBA’s Next Great Rivalry

By Carter Johnson

May 16, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) battles for the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) during the third quarter in game one of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
May 16, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) battles for the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) during the third quarter in game one of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 24, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) dribbles as Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) defends during the first quarter in game four of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
May 24, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) dribbles as Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) defends during the first quarter in game four of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /

Individual Dominance

Many of the league’s historical player rivalries were made pertinent by the fact that both players were incredibly dominant in their own right, and the same goes for this one.

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    • On top of being the two best point guards in the NBA, Curry and Westbrook were essentially the two frontrunners for the league MVP award this season — although Curry was head and shoulders above everyone else in the race for the majority of the year.

    Reasonably so: Curry put up a historically ridiculous season by averaging 30.1 points per game and joining the 50/40/90 club with shooting splits of .504/.454/.908, along with 6.7 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals a night — all while leading the reigning champions to breaking the Chicago Bulls’ longstanding 72-10 regular season record with a remarkable 73-9 mark for the year.

    Don’t get it twisted though; Westbrook was no slouch. In fact, he was making history of his own under Curry’s enormous shadow.

    Westbrook was a beast in all facets of the game, becoming the first player ever to average 20+ points, 10+ rebounds, 7.5+ assists and 2+ steals a game for a single season while also tying Magic Johnson’s single-season record (since the NBA/ABA merger) for triple-doubles with 18.

    Both were named starters in this year’s All-Star Game (with Westbrook taking home his second consecutive MVP award) and given spots on the All-NBA First Team as well.

    Their shared yet differently dominant seasons have sparked intense debate among analysts and casual fans alike about who’s the better point guard and player, with followers of the game taking up sides on the issue. Anytime you have people arguing over who’s the top gun, you know you have the makings of a pretty solid rivalry on your hands.

    While their individual dominance has fanned the flames of competition between the two all season, the next component of the rivalry has only recently surfaced.

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