Last year, Billy Donovan replaced Scott Brooks as head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder, inheriting a roster of three stars, in Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka and Russell Westbrook—a trio fit to headline a championship favorite.
Now, one year later, just one of those players remains: Westbrook. And you ought to believe Donovan still appreciates him being there. He said as much, and then some, during an appearance on The Vertical Podcast with Adrian Wojnarowski:
“The first thing about Russell, being around him, is he wants to win at the highest level,” Donovan said. “I think the second thing about him is amazing, being around him he’s extremely bright and he’s smart and he’s got a great feel. And the third thing is he’s very, very well prepared. I think a lot of times what people can look to or point to is when you have Serge [Ibaka] leaving and obviously Kevin leaving is this idea that maybe Russell now takes over more, and I think that he really understands that he’s got to make everybody around him better.
“People wanted to talk last year when he led the league in scoring and Kevin was coming back, ‘How’s this going to work?’ Like Russell Westbrook’s too smart. He understands Kevin’s coming back and he’s a great scorer and I thought our efficiency on the offensive end [was excellent] — behind Golden State, those guys did a great job. He’s been one of the league leaders in assists, one of, if not the best, rebounding guards. He’s obviously proven he can score, but I think Russell’s also smart enough to understand right now that he’s got to take the group with him.
It’s tough to disagree with anything Donovan said. Westbrook has received a bad wrap at times, partially because he isn’t Durant, and also because the on-court balance between him and Durant has always seemed a bit…off. They worked well together, and much of the criticism is unfair. But every time Durant went possessions without touching the ball or was used as a glorified spot-up decoy, every time Westbrook took a big-time shot instead of his running mate, there would be some level of backlash that gained steam outside Oklahoma City, most, if not all, of which fell squarely on the point guard’s shoulders.
Westbrook now has a chance to lead his own team, free from that form of criticism. He now assumes a different form of responsibility as the lone superstar, and his contract situation, which has him slotted for free agency in 2018, will still put him in headlines for questionable reasons. But the obligation, real and contrived, he has to Durant’s shadow is now gone, this time for good.
