NBA: Why Russell Westbrook Isn't Considered An All-Around Superstar

Russell Westbrook Jazz Thunder — Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder passes over Ricky Rubio #3 of the Utah Jazz in the first half during Game 3 of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Vivint Smart Home Arena on April 21, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images

Russell Westbrook may be a prolific scorer, but there’s just one aspect in his game that keeps him from being an all-around NBA superstar.

Looking at Westbrook’s stellar career, it’s impossible to deny what a transcendent talent he is. Indeed, Westbrook does things on a basketball court a normal human being should be able to accomplish. After all, there’s no denying that he’s had a frustrating career in other respects. Aside from not being able to lead a team to an NBA championship, Westbrook isn’t really a great 3-point shooter as well.

Westbrook is regarded as one of the NBA’s best overall players. Prior to being traded to the Houston Rockets this season, the former MVP spent 11 productive years as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

In his last three seasons with OKC, Westbrook averaged a triple-double for the entire season, a feat that only Oscar Robertson has accomplished in the past. However, the one area of Westbrook’s game that really needs to improve is his 3-point accuracy.

Westbrook’s career three-point shooting percentage is 30.7% but the bigger problem is that it is tremendously declining. In his MVP season of 2016-2017, he shot 34.7% from the three-point line. Since then, his totals from the ensuing three seasons have significantly gone downward.

In the 2017-2018 season, it trimmed down to 29.8%, it slightly decreased the following season to 29% and this season, after his first seven games, Westbrook is poorly shooting from beyond the arc at 25.8%.

Russell Westbrook recorded a 20-20-20 game as the Thunder beat the Lakers. In this picture, Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Team Giannis reacts in the first half during the NBA All-Star game as part of the 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, Feb. 17, 2019. Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

His numbers from the three-point line show that Westbrook isn’t always the best offensive player. It appears that he is better at creating an open look for himself than draining 3 point shots.

SportsRaid, a site that focuses on sports data journalism, compiled a list of the 25 most overrated players in the NBA. The list included Westbrook and he was named the sixth most overrated player in the league. Some could think that it was a harsh judgment but statistics and numbers don’t lie.

The content pointed out that Westbrook is a magnificent scorer but a horrible three-point shooter. According to the piece, Westbrook is the worst shooter in the NBA right now and the worst volume three point shooter in league history, making under 31 percent in almost 3000 career attempts. Westbrook’s raw numbers put him among the game’s elite, but his inefficiency and foibles will always leave him a step behind the rest.