National Basketball Association

Why Russell Westbrook is the NBA's scariest transition scorer

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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There aren’t many tasks as daunting as trying to slow down Russell Westbrook in transition. Besides the fact that he scored 23.3 percent of his points in the open court last season — a greater clip than those of James Harden, Isaiah Thomas, LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo — Westbrook did so at a rate of 1.15 points per possession. While only good for the 58.2 percentile, it’s basically equivalent to Stephen Curry running off of a screen for a jump shot, which he does better than just about everyone in the league.

Some of what makes Westbrook special in transition is nearly impossible to replicate. After all, there’s good reason why he supplanted LeBron James as the most athletic player in the league in the eyes of most general managers last season. Beyond the thunderous dunks, he can contort his body in ways many players can’t and his athleticism is unmatched at the point guard position.

However, for every gravity-defying layup he makes in the open court, Westbrook busts out one of his go-to moves that have helped him become a volume scorer in transition. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how he does it, from his breakneck speed to his knockdown pull-up jumper.

Westbrook goes from 0 to 100 real quick

During the 2014-15 season, ESPN calculated that Westbrook clocks out at a top speed of 21.6 miles per hour when driving to the basket. Not only does that make him almost half a second faster than the average NBA player from one baseline to another, Westbrook’s maximum acceleration of 27.16 feet per second squared isn’t far off of Usain Bolt’s at 31.0 feet per second.

What’s even crazier is that Westbrook can make real basketball plays while operating at full speed when he doesn’t have the ball in his hands. Just watch him out-sprint Emmanuel Mudiay off of a dead ball, snatch Kevin Durant’s pass out of the air like he’s a wide receiver and explode to the basket for a strong finish. Keep in mind that he started the play behind Mudiay and only a few feet ahead of Danilo Gallinari and still managed to blow right past them.

Westbrook generates a lot of points for himself off of steals as well. He’s averaged 2.1 steals per game over the last two seasons — an output less than a handful of NBA players can match — and he knows how to use those opportunities to create easy baskets. Besides, point guards tend to be the only players who have a chance of matching Westbrook in a foot race, yet there isn’t anyone at that position who can match his freakish athleticism.

Case in point: Mario Chalmers tries to get in front of Westbrook following a Grizzlies turnover but opts to keep running when he realizes he has absolutely no chance of preventing the dunk. As a bonus, take note of where Westbrook takes off from.

That sort of blinding speed is difficult to slow down in any situation, let alone one where the defense is trotting back as Westbrook attacks them with a full head of steam. But when he can’t bulldoze his way to the basket…

His pull-up becomes his greatest weapon

Here’s the thing with Westbrook: He’s too good of a scorer to leave wide open. Teams will mostly live with him shooting 3-pointers because he’s only made 30.2 percent of his attempts from the perimeter since being drafted, but he’s a decent midrange scorer who can get it rolling once he finds his rhythm. That means, even though he posted an Effective Field Goal Percentage of 42.3 on pull-ups last season, teams have to respect him once he steps foot inside the perimeter.

Plus, Westbrook isn’t phased about missing a few shots. Only nine players attempted a greater number of pull-ups per game than him in 2015-16, and even fewer made more pull-ups per game. It’s become one of his greatest weapons in transition when teams retreat to prevent him from getting a layup.

Oh, and he has counter moves

How Westbrook sets up his pull-up is important because — similar to how Carmelo Anthony’s face-up sets the foundation for the rest of his post-up game — he’s mastered how to use the threat of his jump shot to his advantage. For example, Westbrook tends to cross the ball over from right to left before he pulls-up. In order to make him less predictable in those situations, he sometimes hesitates when he gets to his sweet spot and then crosses the ball back over to his right hand.

That brief hesitation is important. Without it, Westbrook wouldn’t be able to create the illusion of him pulling up on a dime, which is what sets the table for him to attack the basket with his strong hand.

Of course, Westbrook can continue attacking with his left hand if the defender bites on his fake. Watch him freeze Devin Harris with a quick hesitation on the break and finish at the basket with an impressive move. Notice, too, how he brings the ball up with his right hand and crosses it over to his left as if he’s going to pull-up before making a move to the basket.

Westbrook will also do the opposite by using the threat of his drive to set up a pull-up. As you can see in the video below, Westbrook uses the same right-to-left crossover that he does in the other videos, but his crossover this time is quicker. As a result, Klay Thompson takes a step-back out of fear of the drive, and Westbrook pulls-up from the elbow for an uncontested jumper.

He’s also a dominant scorer in the post

One of the biggest changes in Westbrook’s game over the last two seasons is that he’s found a healthier balance between pulling-up in transition and taking opponents to the post when he has a physical advantage. After attempting 123 pull-ups within eight seconds of the shot clock during the 2014-15 season, that number dropped to 67 attempts last season. He also went from taking around 70 shot attempts out of the post to 137 attempts in 2015-16, which is basically the sort of production you’d expect to see from a power forward or center.

I’ve written about Westbrook’s post-up game in detail in the past, but the SparkNotes version is that his combination of strength, speed and athleticism has a way of creating mismatches on offense. He actually likes posting-up, too, which is what sets him further apart from other point guards. Even Mike Conley, who is widely recognized as one of the better point guard defenders in the league, had no chance of containing Westbrook on this play:

They’re much slower plays but equally as effective. Here, Westbrook does the same to Archie Goodwin before breaking out Dirk Nowitzki’s patented fadeaway. The subtle bump before he rises for the jump shot creates the separation needed for him to get the shot he wants.

Let’s talk about the Euro-step

Westbrook doesn’t use it as often as Manu Ginobili or Dwyane Wade did in their prime, but he does have the Euro-step in his repertoire. He doesn’t perform it in the same way they do, either. Ginobili is known to be craftier in those situations as he can weave his way around multiple defenders in a crowded area, while Wade is better at creating space for himself with more explosive moves. Because he’s exceptionally quick from end-to-end, Westbrook doesn’t have to sell his first step quite as much as Ginobili and Wade, and can instead rely on his speed and athleticism to do the talking.

For example, notice how much ground Wade covers against Kevin Garnett on this possession. His first step is just inside the elbow and he ends up underneath the basket. He also gets Garnett moving a significant amount on the first step by shifting all of his momentum — body, ball and all — towards his right foot.

Now compare that to how Westbrook gets around Jerryd Bayless on this possession. While Wade’s Euro-step was far more deliberate, Westbrook uses it as a way to get around Bayless rather than tricking him into going a certain direction, almost like an inverted Euro-step. It yields the same result even though the aesthetics are very different.

Here’s another example. Knowing John Wall will try to draw the charge by planting himself outside of the restricted area, Westbrook takes one step towards Wall before launching himself in the other direction. None of it is particularly quick or explosive — especially when compared to Wade’s Euro-step against Garnett — but it works for him.

In essence, that’s what makes Westbrook the NBA’s scariest scorer in transition. The margin for error becomes smaller when everyone is operating at full speed, which just so happens to be where Westbrook is at his best. One step in the wrong direction —whether it’s out of fear of his pull-up or the outcome of a simple right-to-left crossover — can be the difference between Westbrook having to finish over a 7-footer and getting a wide open layup, and nobody puts more pressure on the defender to make that mistake than Westbrook.