Very rarely do we as sport fans get to see something has never been done before. This year in the NBA we might see one of those moments. We might not see the leading scorer in the NBA make the All Star team. It’s never happened in the history of the NBA since the ABA and NBA merger, but Russell Westbrook is anything but a conventional man.
Right now Russell Westbrook is averaging a career high in points per game at 26.3 through 22 games (missing 14 games due to a hand injury). Former Thunder 6th man of the year James Harden is leading the league currently at 26.8 points per game.
We could see Westbrook leading the league in scoring at the All Star break if he has a few good games is row to close the first half of the season. Yet he might not be wearing an All Star jersey in New York City in February. How could a player of Westbrook’s caliber and including his current string of success be left off the court at Madison Square Garden?
Looking at the Western Conference you are in what is being called a “Golden Age” of guards. You have the living legends that have been doing it for a long time like Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul and Tony Parker, then all the way to the young stars in the making like James Harden, Steph Curry and Damian Lillard. You can also talk about Mike Conley, Rajon Rondo, Klay Thompson, Gordon Hayward, Monte Ellis, and even Gordon Dragic and Eric Bledsoe as potential All Stars.
Russell Westbrook falls somewhere in that over talented clump of great guards and most basketball fans would argue that he belongs towards the top. That is not where we see his name though in the voting. Westbrook is just barely edging out a washed up one hit wonder in Jeremy Lin in the voting.
At this point we can call the 2 starting guard spots all wrapped up with Steph Curry and Kobe Bryant in front of every other player by a large margin. That means the bench will be selected by the coaches. 4 guard spots up for grabs and Russell is not a lock to get in, he will have to make a case for himself like everyone else.
With the hot clutch shooting of Damian Lillard, the unbelievable team start to Klay Thompson’s Golden State Warriors, big names like the Chris Paul and James Harden, wise respected veterans like Tony Parker and defensive sound coach’s favorites like Mike Conley and Gordon Dragic you can see Russell being left out… and it being an honest argument.
As Oklahoma City fans know you either love Russell or you hate him. What if the coaches in the Western Conference think back to him knocking out the half-court shot from their mascot or yelling into their stands after a big dunk? Russell is not a choir boy. He is respected by people around the NBA but it is also safe to say he isn’t loved. When it comes to a coin flip I tend to vote for the person I like, not the one I don’t.
The time spent out because of an injury also goes into consideration. Not because of Russell’s missed time but because of the OKC record sitting at 17-19 and in the 10th spot in the West. It could be easy to give a player like Klay Thompson or Mike Conley the nod just because their teams are so much higher in the standings.
The team’s next 4 games before the All Star team is selected could be huge for Westbrook’s All Star push. Do I think that Russell deserves to be in the All Star game, of course. Do I think he will? It’s tough for me to say without a doubt he would beat out James Harden, Damian Lillard, Chris Paul, Klay Thompson, Tony Parker and Mike Conley.
Let us all just pray the Thunder can win these next 4 games and with Russell getting back to his game, if not, OKC may only have one person booking a flight to NYC.
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