Sure there were other situations at play, but the Kevin Durant/Russell Westbrook partnership is the biggest “What If?” since Kobe/Shaq!
These two players along with Sam Presti finding another diamond in the rough that turned into a uber-superstar in James Harden deserved a serious high five from the NBA. See the move from Seattle was very unpopular then and it is now! There are still fan groups to this day trying to get a franchise in the great Northwest.
It only took two seasons together to lead the Thunder into the playoffs. Russ took off in his first season as the starter averaging 16.1 points, 8.0 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.3 steals on the season. OKC more than doubled their win total and finished with a 50–32 record to qualify for the playoffs. The next year? The Thunder made the NBA Finals, taking on the Miami Heat led by LeBron James.
In Game 4 of the 2012 NBA Finals here’s is this writer’s opinion where the “What if?” started. Russell scored 43 points on 20-32 shooting.
In a pivotal game where OKC could have evened up the series, LeBron and the Miami Heat erased a 17-point deficit to win the game and take a commanding 3-1 lead that was never relinquished. Seems a lot like some of the blown Lakers leads this season doesn’t it?
Notes from this series of note.
- If you thought Kevin Durant gave LeBron the business in Golden State, that was nothing compared to the work he put on him in this series. Durant averaged 30.6 points on nearly 55 percent shooting with 6 rebounds and 2 assists. Many believed he could have averaged 40. Why? Russ didn’t give him a chance. KD was the unstoppable matchup.
- In Game 4, despite Westbrook’s offensive explosion, he gave up 25 points on the defensive end to a young Mario Chalmers. In crunch time, Chalmers blew past Russ (Seen in video!) for a layup to put the game away. Up until this point in the series, he was ICE COLD!
- Meanwhile, LeBron finished with 26 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds. In other words, he used his teammates.
- In comparison, in the last 16:46 of the game, no Thunder player scored besides Westbrook and Durant.
This is how the whispers of Russell Westbrook not knowing how to win the big one started. Sure, everyone mentions the 3-1 collapse that led to the departure of Kevin Durant…
But this scenario started a chain of events that the Los Angeles Lakers are paying for even more than the huge contract that they are stuck with. Read on and let’s decipher how KD’s departure defined Westbrooks legacy.