Affirmation: All-Star vote proves people really do love Russ
Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook's talent goes unquestioned, yet he's long been a polarizing figure as the wild-haired teammate of the sublimely low-key Kevin Durant.
Only Westbrook's been so dynamic, so freakishly dominating, just so dang good that whatever perceived negatives in his game -- high turnover rate, poor shot selection, quick-trigger temper -- have mostly been stricken from the memory banks of NBA fans.
Proof is in this year's All-Star voting. For the first time in his career, Westbrook has been selected as a Western Conference starter by fans. Westbrook received 772,009 votes, the highest total of his career. Only uber-popular Golden State point guard and Westbrook's All-Star backcourt mate Stephen Curry (1,604,325) received more votes among West backcourt players.
No doubt he deserves it. Westbrook is having a fantastic season for the Thunder, who are 32-12 entering Friday's game at Dallas. The eighth-year guard is averaging 24.0 points a game, a career-best 9.8 assists, which is second-best in the NBA, 7.1 rebounds, which ranks No. 1 among guards and 2.8 steals.
Still, there are other factors for perhaps why Westbrook is now breaking through as one of the game's true stars, as Erik Horne of The Oklahoman noted: Westbrook is everywhere. He's become quite the fashionista, he's got those zany Mountain Dew commercials and he's on the cover of the video game NBA Live 16.
Last week when it appeared rather certain that Westbrook would be voted a starter, Durant said, via The Oklahoman, that it's hight time Westbrook joined him in the starting lineup.
Before this year, Westbrook had never cracked the top five in fan voting for backcourt players in the West. Even last year when he was tearing up the league with Durant on the shelf with a foot injury, Westbrook only received the seventh-most All-Star votes in the West among backcourt players (248,758).
Westbrook, who will play in his fifth All-Star game, might be on the cusp of a long stretch of All-Star starts. At 27, he's delivering the most complete performances of his career. And if he and Durant stay together -- Durant will be a free agent this summer -- the Thunder figure to be a dominant team for years to come.
So there you go, Russ, the people really do love you.
