Kevin Durant is the second best basketball player in the world, right?. But is Russell Westbrook a more dominant player? I think so, and not in the animal sense–because, then, he definitely is. Russell has all the skills; he can handle, pass, shoot (well enough) and get to the line. And so does KD. But there’s one thing Durant doesn’t have. Ferocity. I mean, Nike even had that KD is not nice campaign to prove he wasn’t as kind-hearted as he seemed–on court, at least. And as far as I can tell, I’m not sure it’s helped; whether that’s Westbrook’s doing or something else, I’m not sure. As of late, due to KD’s injury related absence, The Brodie has been stepping up; and by stepping up, I mean, going hard as a mother-fucker. HE HAS THREE STRAIGHT TRIPLE DOUBLES. WHAT THE FUCK. This is insane. But let’s forget the stats for second. The numbers aren’t what is catapulting Westbrook ahead of KD–although, they’re helping–it’s the attitude, it’s the way he plays. You’ve heard it before: Westbrook plays every game like its his last; Westbrook plays with a reckless abandon. It’s true.
KD plays within the limits of his talents, which is more than enough, because he’s extremely talented and genetically gifted. Westbrook does not; Westbrook is also extremely talented and genetically gifted but he is not limited by his talent, which say A LOT. If The Brodie wants to get to the rim, he gets to the rim. End of story. If KD wants to get to the rim, he can, but doesn’t always. Why? Because KD is nice, contrary to the Nike ad campaign. Both these guys have unbelievable ability but amazingly different personalities.
If you take two basketball players with similar builds, but outfit one with Durants personality and tendencies and the other with Westbrook’s, and you made these guys play each other–one-on-one–the player with Westbrook’s drive and intensity would win every time. The way Westbrook goes about the game of basketball transcendes his talents. I’d argue that if Westbrook lost his ability to shoot–via the Space Jam phenomena–he would still find a way to be a dominant player; whether it be doubling his trips to the line or doubling his assist total, he’d find a way. If Durant lost his ability to shoot, he could definitely make up in other departments; we’ve seen KD average almost triple-double stats for a stretch, but I get the feeling that he wouldn’t find a way to be a premier talent. And this isn’t an attack on Durant, because, for all I know, maybe he could find another way to be great; these are all just speculations, eye tests and gut feelings.
Westbrook’s demeanor makes him dominant, while Durant’s talent does. Which is better, I’m not sure. Gun to my head, I’d take Westbrook’s demeanor. You can teach a guy to shoot a ball, how to pass and how to box out; but you can’t teach aggressiveness and drive. If, by nature or nurture, you don’t like to speak up, or always defer to an alpha, or don’t like to challenge what’s being said or done, that’s hard to change. A broken bone will heal in months (physical), a broken heart might not (mental); external and internal problems are two very different things. Westbrook has the mental (and physical), Durant has the physical (and maybe the mental). Either way, this is my comparison without the numbers. And I’m not exactly positive what this proves, other than Westbrook and KD are both amazing players, yet very different people.
This all stemmed from me trying to imagine Durant as a second fiddle, under Westbrook. It kind of weirded me out. But who knows–KD could come back and drop four straight triple-doubles. What the hell to do I know?
ihavenorightto 