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According to the Black Mamba Kobe Bryant himself, Houston Rockets star Russell Westbrook is the most passionate competitor in the NBA today. His energy levels, intensity and willingness to leave it all out on the floor have always been held in extremely high regard. And so has his ability to take external motivation from critics and turn it into fuel for spectacular on-court performance.
Houston Rockets star Russell Westbrook ranked 23rd by Bleacher Report
If recent Houston Rockets recruit Russell Westbrook needed any more motivation to go all out in Disney World, Bleacher Report has provided it to him. In a list of top 100 NBA players released recently, B/R's Dan Favale and Andy Bailey ranked the 9-time All Star 23rd.
Russell Westbrook is averaging 27 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7 assists this season. He's doing this at 47.4% field goal percentage, which is his best career season figure. On top of this, The Houston Rockets point gaurd has been playing exemplary defense on the perimeter, snagging 1.7 steals per game.
Russell Westbrook was just a couple of votes shy of being voted the Western Conference Player of the Month for February. This was a month when he averaged 33.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game while shooting an elite 54.9% from the field as a guard.
Which is why his reaction to Bleacher Report's list, a plain "Hahahahahaa", seems to be quite warranted. Russell Westbrook is going to be voted into an All-NBA team in all probability. After all, he is a huge part of the Rockets' take-your-turn offense that alternates between him and James Harden dominating ball possession.
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One explanation for Russell Westbrook's relatively low ranking on Bleacher Report's list is the fact that he's only won 4 first round playoff games in 3 seasons. This is despite him having had the likes of Victor Oladipo, Carmelo Anthony and Paul George as second stars on his team.
Also probably factoring into Favale and Bailey's minds is the fact that Russell Westbrook is a genuinely bad 3-point shooter. And the Houston Rockets need all of their players to be accurate from range, given their strategy of bombing 45 or more 3-pointers per game.
And yet, it seems preposterous to rank Russell Westbrook, who won the MVP trophy as recently as 3 seasons back and has had 3 straight seasons with a triple-double average, as low as 23rd. The Brody remains the best athlete at his position in the NBA, and his ability to take over when his Houston Rockets partner James Harden is having an off night is much superior to the likes of Kyle Lowry, Ben Simmons or even Khris Middleton, who've all been ranked higher than him.
ALSO READ: 5 reasons why Houston Rockets will not win the 2020 NBA championship
Guess the Lakers players!
