Russell Westbrook has been catching a lot of criticism again, and the situation around him seems to continue to worsen. With all the talk about him not being able to play at an elite level and not accepting that he won’t be the face of a franchise, it’s easy to forget about a time that he was. Russ is a former MVP and a beast; he was walking triple-double during his time with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
So it stands to reason that fans are trying to defend Westbrook and remind people about the player that he used to be. And one fan, in particular, tried to compare Russ’ career to Stephen Curry’s, pointing out that Westbrook’s career totals in every major stat category are ahead of Curry’s.
Russell Westbrook has more career pts, rebounds, asts, stls, blks than Steph Curry. pic.twitter.com/7Jtigt8R2Q
— LakeShow (@LakeShowCP) July 19, 2022
“Russell Westbrook has more career pts, rebounds, asts, stls, blks than Steph Curry.”
The fan is technically correct. Westbrook has over 3,000 points more than Curry overall, 23,298 to Curry’s 20,064. The rebound margin is even higher, with Westbrook almost doubling up Curry’s 3,838 with 7,541 career boards. The assist total also has a discrepancy of over 3,000, Westbrook has 8,611, and Curry has just 5,388. The steals are quite close in number, just 1,699 to 1,367, while Westbrook has 313 blocks to Curry’s 187.
While all these things are true, there is also the context that Westbrook has played nearly 200 games more than Curry. Also, while his stats may be great, Westbrook’s teams haven’t enjoyed nearly the same success that Curry’s have. And other fans pointed this out extremely fast.
“Go to hell with this bait.”
“So the Lakers missed the playoffs despite having a superteam.”
“In no way has Russ had a better career than Steph.”
“Steph clears Russ with extreme ease.”
“This is why the Lakers should keep him! Generational talent.”
“Curry has more. MVP. Chips. Finals MVP. And still has less bricks than Russ.”
“Steph has CHAMPIONSHIP RINGS, you know how this goes homie.”
“He got nothing to show for his stats.”
“This is a ridiculous comparison.”
“Even you have to admit, you’d choose Steph over Russ for your team.”
“These stats means nothing in front of Curry’s rings.”
Comparing Westbrook to Curry, who is just coming off one of the best seasons he has ever played, isn’t a fantastic idea. Curry has two MVPs, four rings, and a Finals MVP, none of which Russ can claim. While it’s important to acknowledge how great Russ is, it simply doesn’t make sense to compare his career with Curry’s.
