Russell Westbrook had his fair share of ups and downs in the 2018-19 season. He was very dominant, but also endured his fair share of struggles.
The Oklahoma City Thunder lost Kevin Durant in 2016, but what gave them hope was the fact that the team still had Russell Westbrook.
Going into the 2016-17 season, the Thunder were not going to rebuild because they still had a team good enough to make it to the playoffs. They did so on the back of their superstar point guard.
Westbrook was able to average a triple-double in his first season without KD, which had never been seen before in this century. Oscar Robertson did it first, but that was north of 50 years ago. Also, Westbrook broke the record for usage rate in one season, leading the league in scoring.
The team, however, did not make it past the first round and they only won one game in that series. The Thunder got Carmelo Anthony and Paul George, but things did not change in 2018, as they were booted out in the first round again.
This year, the Thunder went in with a two-headed monster in Paul George and Russell Westbrook. They had success for most of the season until the home stretch, and in the playoffs, questions were raised about Westbrook’s ability to shoot.
Russ remains the franchise player and is OKC’s cornerstone, but is that a good thing? Here are player grades for Russell Westbrook’s 2018-19 campaign.