Hoops Habit
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5 Players With The Most To Prove In 2016-17

By Carter Johnson

Nov 5, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) dribble the ball around Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) during the second half at the United Center. The Bulls won 104-98. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 5, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) dribble the ball around Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) during the second half at the United Center. The Bulls won 104-98. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /
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Russell Westbrook is a polarizing player, but it'd behoove the NBA community to appreciate his all-time abilities while he's in his prime. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Russell Westbrook is a polarizing player, but it’d behoove the NBA community to appreciate his all-time abilities while he’s in his prime. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

Russell Westbrook

Erratic. Emotionally driven. Unbridled. These are all characteristics fans have come to love (or hate, depending on the person) about Russell Westbrook‘s fury unleashed-style of play.

However, they are also the very things that cause many to question his ability to lead a team.

Now that Kevin Durant, who was perceived to be the cooler head of the two, is gone, fans question how far this Thunder team can go with such a fireball of a player at the helm.

Luckily, fans don’t have to look far to see what Westbrook’s capable of when riding solo.

In the 2014-15 season when Durant missed 56 games due to injury, Westbrook put together an MVP-like year, averaging a career-high 28.1 points per game along with 8.6 assists, 7.3 rebounds and 2.1 steals while putting together five triple-doubles in a six-game span and winning the league scoring title.

The team fell just short of the playoffs with a 45-37 record that season, a record that would’ve been good for fifth in the Western Conference last season.

As dominant as he was then, it’d be fair to say he was even better in 2015-16 with averages of 23.5 points, 10.4 assists, 7.8 rebounds and 2.0 steals a night and a record-tying 18 triple-doubles in a singular season.

Outside of Stephen Curry, Westbrook was arguably the league’s most dominant player last season and it got incredibly hard to tell who was more influential to the Thunder’s success.

Now, with Durant gone, Westbrook’s rage will be fully unleashed on the rest of the NBA world and will undoubtedly be motivated to show his former partner what he left and prove to the rest of the league that he is capable of being the alpha dog on a contending team.

More hoops habit: 25 Greatest Individual Seasons in NBA History

The Thunder may not be a Western Conference finalist in 2017, but I wouldn’t bet against a team led by a beast of Westbrook’s nature missing the playoffs.