Isaiah Thomas says no one in the league was harder to guard than prime Russell Westbrook. On Got Sole, the former All-Star explained that Westbrook’s unique combination of strength, speed, and athleticism made him a nightmare matchup during his Oklahoma City Thunder days, even tougher than Steph Curry or Kyrie Irving.
“The hardest to guard was OKC Russell Westbrook,” Thomas said on ‘Got Sole.’ “It looks hard to guard Steph but when Russell Westbrook was with OKC and he was faster, stronger, jumped higher than everybody, getting triple-doubles… that was the most difficult player I’ve ever had to guard. It changes for different people but he had the height advantage, damn near the same in terms of speed, he jumps higher than me. We had our battle but that was a tough cover for me. Curry, we had our battles, Kyrie, we had our battles. But Westbrook is a little bigger and stronger than those guys.”
As a former NBA point guard, Thomas speaks from personal experience on this subject. He played for 12 years in the NBA, serving different roles across various teams. He played against Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, and Russell Westbrook in their primes and joined them on the All-Star team in 2016 and 2017.
Today, while Thomas is no longer active in the NBA, he hasn’t forgotten what it’s like to do battle against the best guards in the game. Particularly, he remembers having the most trouble guarding Russell Westbrook and it’s not hard to understand why.
During the peak of Thomas’ career, Westbrook was in his prime and doing historic things for the Thunder. His power, athleticism, and fierce determination were on full display and defined an entire era of Thunder basketball. In 2017, he was named the league MVP with averages of 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 10.4 assists per game on 42.5% shooting.
As a nine-time All-Star, two-time scoring champion, and former league MVP, Westbrook’s legacy will forever stand among the greatest point guards of the modern era. While his resume doesn’t compare to someone like Curry or even Kyrie Irving, his greatness is undeniable and his game was not easily surpassed. For Thomas, and other guards during that era, dealing with Westbrook was often impossible as it presented a unique challenge.
Sadly, Westbrook’s career has hit a bit of a rough patch after leaving the Thunder in 2019. He’s travelled around over the years, failing to find success with each new team he joined. This season, he’s yet to be signed at all as one of the most qualified free agents still on the market.
With so much uncertainty, nobody knows how the story ends for Westbrook but his time on the Thunder will go down as some of the best in modern NBA history. For years, he was the heart and soul of that franchise and carried them as far as he could with pure passion, talent, and commitment to the craft.
Isaiah Thomas isn’t exaggerating when he talks about Russell Westbrook’s dominance. For nearly a decade, Westbrook was the engine that powered Oklahoma City, attacking the rim like a freight train and setting a standard few guards have matched since. Even if his best days are behind him, Westbrook’s legacy as one of the most explosive players ever to touch a basketball is already secure.
