Why B/R was entirely wrong in slight of Rockets’ Russell Westbrook

As Bleacher Report released their top 100 rankings, they made a colossal mistake as it pertains to Houston Rockets star Russell Westbrook.

One year ago today, the Houston Rockets shook up the basketball world by trading Chris Paul, who nearly helped the Rockets get past their archenemy in the Golden State Warriors, for Russell Westbrook. The trade caused mixed reactions, as many wondered how the trade would work considering the fact that the Rockets employ a strategy that didn’t seem to fit Westbrook’s style of play.

But the results have been stellar, as Westbrook has turned in one of his best seasons of a surefire Hall of Fame career. Westbrook has had year-over-year improvements in scoring, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, two-point percentage, true shooting percentage, and player efficiency, while also going on a 34-game scoring streak.

Many in the national media have taken notice, as the Rockets have become the popular sleeper team as the NBA nears it’s restart, in part because of Westbrook’s fit in Mike D’Antoni’s small ball offense.

But on Saturday it became clear that not everyone has taken notice of Westbrook’s stellar play, as Bleacher Report released their player rankings of the top 100 players from the 2019-20 season.

Bleacher Report’s Top 10 Players in the NBA this season

1) Giannis Antetokounmpo
2) LeBron James
3) Kawhi Leonard
4) James Harden
5) Luka Doncic
6) Nikola Jokic
7) Damian Lillard
8) Anthony Davis
9) Jimmy Butler
10) Khris Middleton

***22) Russell Westbrook***

— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) July 11, 2020

As we can see, Westbrook wasn’t included in the top ten, or even inside of the top 20. The Houston Rockets superstar was listed at 22, which is egregious for so many reasons, and especially considering some of the players they ranked ahead of Westbrook.

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