A college teammate of Kevin Love at UCLA, Westbrook is our 2nd UCLA Bruin to crack the top 25, and the first of a bunch young NBA point guards. In his 3rd season in the association he is putting up his best numbers so far and has been rewarded with a spot on the West All-Star team. Along with teammate Kevin Durant, Westbrook leads the Thunder as one of the best up-and-coming squads in the NBA.
As a rookie in 2008 he finished 4th in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting (Derrick Rose). Since then he has continued to improve each season. Never much of a marksman, Westbrook is putting up a career high .438 FG percentage. He is among the top 10 in assists per game, and ranks 12th in the league in player efficiency, 2nd among point guards (Chris Paul).
Despite his limited shooting range - only 30% from three point land - he has become one of the tougher point guards in the league to defend. He is a very strong and physical player with tremendous quickness and is adept at getting to the rim. This is evidenced by his 8.2 FT per contest, which ranks 1st among NBA point guards.
Damn.
As far as career accolades Westbrook has some work to do in that department. He hasn't won a championship at any level, though he did help lead the Thunder to a first round playoff appearance last season. Many will recall how they took the Lakers to a 7th game in the first round and nearly pulled off the upset of the eventual champions. That series did a lot for their reputation as a team to reckon with going forward. Westbrook was sensational in that series with over 20 points per game, as well as 6 boards and 6 assists per game.
Like Kevin Love, Westbrook was a member of team USA over the summer at the FIBA World Championships and seems to have benefited from that time. At just 22 years old Westbrook has a very bright future as one of the leaders of this 'Era of the Point Guard' in the NBA. Teaming up with Durant in OKC should lead to some very memorable seasons for the Thunder faithful. (Sorry, Seattle.)
Since we didn't get a Top 25 Under 25 yesterday I will do a double dose on Friday to maintain pace.
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