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Russell Westbrook isn't just a scorer -- he's become an elite passer, too

The Thunder point guard is leading the NBA in assists, and a look at the film shows it's no accident.

By Yaron Weitzman

Russell Westbrook is the rare player whose athleticism still jumps off the screen in a league full of amazing athletes. He's faster and more explosive than nearly every one of his peers. It's easy to become hypnotized by his awe-inspiring physical gifts.

But focusing solely on the ferocious dunks and speedy dashes down the court can make it easy to miss the rest of Westbrook's skills. While it's his athleticism that gives him a leg up on the rest of the NBA, Westbrook wouldn't be a perennial MVP candidate leading the league in assists without his rapidly developing basketball mind.

Westbrook is averaging a career-high 10.9 assists this season, nearly two more per game than second-place Ricky Rubio. His 22-point, 11-assist effort in the Oklahoma City Thunder's 125-101 blowout win over the Washington Wizards Tuesday was his fifth straight game with at least 20 points and 10 assists. That's the longest such streak in the NBA since Chris Paul met those marks in seven straight games in 2009, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

If Westbrook can maintain his assist lead this year, he'd join Tiny Archibald and Jerry West as the only players in NBA history to have one time led the NBA in points per game and assists per game. (Archibald did it in the same season, West in two separate years).

Westbrook is still scoring (25.8 points on 47 percent shooting) but with Kevin Durant back on the floor, he's taken on the role as orchestrator as well.

It's here where Westbrook has evolved most over the years. He's always had great court vision and all the tools needed to make every pass. He did average 8.6 assists per game last year with Durant missing 55 games, after all.

But what he didn't always posses was poise, timing and a desire to set teammates up. He's still an attack dog constantly looking to sniff out the soft spots in opposing defenses, but fans can no longer gripe about him refusing to share the ball. Westbrook is as aggressive as ever, but he's no longer as reckless. He's now comfortable playing quarterback at the top of the key and letting the offense develop.

That could mean hitting a curling Durant right in the shooting pocket for an easy mid-range jumper.

Or scanning the defense with his eyes and catching a sleeping defender with a backdoor lob.

It's not that Westbrook is passing more frequently. In fact, according to the NBA.com's player tracking data, Westbrook is actually throwing nearly the same amount of passes per game this year (55) as last (56.1). The difference this season is that those passes are more effective. Westbrook's assists are leading to 25.3 points per game this year, via NBA.com. Last year, that number was 19.9. The percentage of passes thrown by Westbrook that lead to a basket -- whether via a normal assist, a hockey assist or a pass that sets up a free-throw opportunity for a teammate -- is also up from 25 percent to 31 percent.

These numbers show that Westbrook's passes have more of a purpose this season because his teammates are doing more with them. The obvious caveat is that it's only been eight games. The Thunder are shooting 49 percent from the field and a league-high 43.4 percent from deep; if those numbers regress to the mean, Westbrook's assist marks likely will too.

But looking at the film, it does appear that Westbrook's deft passing has helped cause the Thunder's incredibly hot shooting. He looks calmer coming off pick-and-rolls and is consciously trying to set up teammates before himself, especially early in games. He's also reading coverages better and is often a step ahead of his opponent.

These two plays occur on consecutive possessions. On the first one,Westbrook sucked in the Wizards' defense and hit a wide open Serge Ibaka in the right corner for a three-pointer. The next time down, Westbrook recognized Kris Humphries' resistance to leaving Ibaka open and hit a rolling Steven Adams for a floater in the lane.


The spectacular plays are still there, of course.
But increasingly, Westbrook is generating assists while staying under control, as he does on this fast break.


Westbrook is now more willing to find teammates when he drives, and that has elevated the Thunder's offense. This year he's dishing off on nearly 31 percent of the 11 drives he makes per game, per NBA.com's tracking page. Last year that number was 24 percent. When he takes the ball to the basket, the entire defense tilts his way. Those are the moments where open teammates present themselves and where passes can carry the most weight.


Westbrook no longer drives only to score. He can now drive to set others up.

This maturation makes Westbrook all the more dangerous. Not only is he one of the league's best scorers, but he's perhaps its best passer as well. That's an unfair combination.

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