Why should Russell Westbrook care about the scoring title?
Russell Westbrook doesn’t care that he won the scoring title, but should he?
It was a nightmare season for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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Sure, most teams would love it if their nightmare scenario involved being in the playoff race until game 82, but that isn’t the reality for a team with a championship roster and a superstar fast approaching free agency.
The Thunder entered the season as one of the title favorites; they leave it with a star who has had three foot surgeries, a coach in jeopardy of losing his job, and no playoff berth at all.
In fact, the only reason they were even close to the playoffs was point guard Russell Westbrook. With Kevin Durant on the shelf for most of the year (and forward Serge Ibaka missing the last quarter of the season), Westbrook put the team on his back, dominating opposing defenses, pouring in points, and eventually leading the league in triple-doubles and scoring.
Understandably, those kinds of stats are nice, but they’re not what Westbrook was after. When asked about the scoring title after the game, Westbrook had just one word to say.
In Westbrook’s defense, why should he care about the scoring title? Stats are meaningless when they aren’t accompanied by wins, at least for the player.
It could be seen as validation for Westbrook that he is a star, but look at the way he plays–he knows he’s a star already. What he wants is a championship. He’s on a team with Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka in their primes, a gift that very few NBA players are blessed with. Imagine if Scottie Pippen had averaged 30 points a game while Michael Jordan watched helplessly from the sideline on the 1991 Bulls, and you have this year’s Thunder.
Every player knows how narrow the championship window is. A lot has to go right for the window to open, but only a little has to go wrong for it to close back up. It would be a shame if Westbrook and Durant reached the end of 2016 (when Durant becomes a free agent) without a championship to speak of. This is a once-a-decade collection of talent all in the same place (even more so if you include the traded James Harden), but they’re in danger of turning into the late ’90s Utah Jazz.
So we can forgive Russell Westbrook for not caring about the scoring title. When you’ve got championships on your mind, nothing else will do.
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