Russell Westbrook vs. Chris Paul Career Comparison: One MVP Is Not Enough To Be Better Than CP3

One of the most exciting discussions in basketball is when we use stats and accolades to compare two players. There are more than just these variables that go into coming to a conclusion on the debate but this conversation is the meat and potatoes of it. Today, we will compare the careers of two of the greatest to ever play at the point guard position, Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul. I think we can all come to an agreement that no matter where you place them; they are both among the Top 10 point guards to ever play the game.

They both have careers in the NBA that have nearly mirrored each other which is what sparks this debate. Westbrook is a former MVP who has made 1 Finals appearance and has been scrutinized heavily for his shortcomings. Chris Paul has been the same, minus the MVP award, of course. Paul is considered one of the smartest and best two-way players to ever play the point guard position, while Russ is considered one of the most explosive and athletic while shattering the all-time triple-doubles record. When we dive deeper into the careers of these two stars, the debate between the two becomes much closer than the average fan would think.

Here is the comparison of the careers of Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul.

Championships

Russell Westbrook: 0

Chris Paul: 0

Unfortunately, we have never seen either Russell Westbrook or Chris Paul hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy as NBA champions. Each player has however made one NBA Finals appearance each. Russell Westbrook appeared in the 2012 NBA Finals as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. the Miami Heat. Westbrook had a great series for being just 23 years old at the time but the Thunder would be beaten in 5 games by the trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. In those 5 games, Westbrook averaged 27.0 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 6.6 APG, and 1.0 SPG. He shot43.3% from the field and an ugly 13.6% from three.

Chris Paul got his shot at an NBA Finals finally as a member of the Phoenix Suns in 2021. Paul led the Suns to the Finals despite suffering a shoulder/neck nerve injury that altered his ability to handle the ball at times. Phoenix would meet the Milwaukee Bucks in the Finals series and even jump out to a 2-0 lead in the 7-game set. Led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks would win 4 straight games and spoil Paul’s best chance at a championship. On the series, Paul averaged 21.8 PPG and 8.2 APG on 55.0% shooting from the field and 52.0% shooting from three.

Advantage: Even

Finals MVP Awards

Russell Westbrook: 0

Chris Paul: 0

There has only been one instance in NBA history in which a member of the losing team in the NBA Finals has taken home the Finals MVP. Unfortunately for Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul, that player was Jerry West and not one of them. It isn’t guaranteed that either of these players would have taken home the award in their respective Finals series losses either. In the 2012 NBA Finals, Westbrook averaged 27.0 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and 6.6 RPG. Great numbers that could easily have won him Finals MVP if the Thunder were victorious. Teammate Kevin Durant averaged 30.6 PPG and 6.0 RPG which also could have been enough to name him Finals MVP as well.

As for Chris Paul, the 2021 Finals MVP could have been awarded to a number of players. First, Giannis Antetokounmpo could have and would have probably been named Finals MVP if the Bucks lost to the Suns. His Finals performance was historic with 35.2 PPG and 13.2 RPG. Paul finished the series with 21.8 PPG and 8.2 APG while teammate Devin Booker averaged 28.2 PPG and 4.0 APG. When you don’t win an NBA Finals in your career, it is difficult to imagine winning a Finals MVP award and neither of these players were in the running for such an honor.

Advantage: Even

MVP Awards

Russell Westbrook: 1 (2017)

Chris Paul: 0

Russell Westbrook is the only player of these two to take home an MVP award. His historic 2017 season is one for the ages and definitely should be noted. Westbrook became the first player since Oscar Robertson to average a triple-double for the entire NBA season. In 2016-17, Russ led the NBA in scoring with 31.6 PPG, grabbed 10.7 RPG, and dished out 10.4 APG. In their first season without Kevin Durant, Westbrook led a Thunder team to a 45-37 record and a No. 6 seed in the Western Conference. In a season that everyone had counted them out as a playoff team, Westbrook stepped up and proved why he was one of the best players in the league at the time.

Chris Paul may have never won an MVP award, but he has certainly come close before. Paul has 5 career finishes in the Top 5 of MVP voting and 2 finishes in the Top 3. In 2007-08, Paul finished 2nd in the voting to Kobe Bryant. He averaged 21.1 PPG but also led the NBA in assists with 11.6 APG and steals with 2.7 SPG. He would finish 5th the very next season after leading the NBA in both assists and steals once again. He finished 3rd in MVP voting in 2012 averaging 19.8 PPG, 9.1 APG, and 2.5 SPG.

Advantage: Russell Westbrook

All-NBA Teams

Russell Westbrook: 9 (2 First Team, 5 Second Team, 2 Third Team)

Chris Paul: 11 (4 First Team, 5 Second Team, 2 Third Team)

Like it or not, being named to an All-NBA Team is a high honor for your contributions during an NBA season. Both of these point guards have racked up the All-NBA selections during their careers. Russ collected 9 selections so far in his 14-year career including 2 First Team selections. The initial First Team selection came in the 2015-16 season. He averaged 23.5 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 10.4 APG. Alongside Kevin Durant, Westbrook led the Thunder to a 55-27 record. The next time he was named to a First Team was the following season in 2017 when he was named the MVP.

In his 17-year NBA career, Chris Paul has been named to 11 All-NBA Teams combined with 4 First Team selections. His first time being selected to the All-NBA First Team was in 2007-08 when he was named runner-up to the MVP and led the league in both steals and assists. He would be named to the First Team again in 2021 when he finished 3rd in MVP voting. His final 2 First Team selections came in the following 2 seasons, making it 3 straight selections for Paul. Over those 3 years, he averaged 18.5 PPG, 9.8 APG, and 2.5 SPG as one of the best two-way point guards in basketball.

Advantage: Chris Paul

All-Star Selections

Russell Westbrook: 9

Chris Paul: 12

Being named an All-Star is simultaneously a midseason award and a reward for your total body of work and the name you have built up. Both of these players have garnered enough of a reputation over the course of their careers to be selected numerous times to participate in the All-Star Game. As a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Westbrook made 3 straight All-Star games from 2011 to 2013 and then 5 more from 2015 through 2019. His last All-Star selection was when he spent one year in Houston and averaged 27.2 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 7.0 APG. 

Chris Paul has been an All-Star since his 3rd season in the league just like Westbrook. He made 4 straight appearances with the New Orleans Hornets from 2008 to 2011. When he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, the All-Star selections didn’t stop as he was selected 5 out of the 6 seasons he spent with the team. He was also selected as an All-Star for the one season he spent with the Thunder in 2020 when he averaged 17.6 PPG, 6.7 APG, and 1.6 SPG. He has been selected in each of the last 2 seasons with the Phoenix Suns while leading them to the best regular season record in team history in 2022.

Advantage: Chris Paul

All-Defensive Team Selections

Russell Westbrook: 0

Chris Paul: 9 (7 First Team, 2 Second Team)

Being named to an All-Defensive Team is another honor that we should not take lightly. Not only does it mean that you are one of the best defenders at your position in the NBA, but also one of the best overall. Russell Westbrook has never been known for his defense and has never been selected to an All-Defensive Team. This does not by any means make him a “negative” or bad defender. Russ still displayed the speed and lateral movement to be considered an average or even slightly above-average defender in his career. He has averaged 1.7 SPG for his career and eclipsed the 2.0 SPG mark back-to-back seasons in 2015 and 2016.

Chris Paul, on the other hand, is one of the best point guard defenders we have ever seen. He has been selected to 7 All-Defensive First Teams in his career. He is one of the most disruptive point guards on defense in recent memory and his high basketball IQ puts him in the right places at all the right times. Paul has led the NBA in steals in 6 different seasons, recording seasons of at least 2.0 SPG 11 different times in his career. To me, this side of the ball is where Paul begins to separate himself from Westbrook in this debate. Being an incredibly productive player on offense is one thing, but to do it on both ends of the floor is truly special.

Advantage: Chris Paul

Total Win Shares

Russell Westbrook: 106.5

Chris Paul: 198.9

Total Win Shares is a pretty good metric to use when measuring a player’s specific impact on winning. Many people like to point at Russell Westbrook and say that hit triple-doubles mean nothing when it comes to winning games. This can not be further from the truth as when Westbrook records a triple-double, his teams win over 70.0% of the time. Westbrook’s play style and game have most definitely led his teams to wins. More specifically, his win shares went way up in the years after Kevin Durant left Oklahoma City. Since those days, they have been on the decline but in his prime, Westbrook was good for 13 or 14 win shares in a season.

When speaking about the impact on winning, Chris Paul has an enormous case for being one of the best floor-raisers in NBA history. Every stop he has made in his career, he has helped his team reach new heights as a franchise and break their old records for franchise wins in a season. Paul did it with the Hornets early on in his career. He accomplished it with the Lob City Clippers. Paul carried a down-and-out Thunder team to a playoff spot in his one season there and most recently in Phoenix; he helped the Suns win the most games in a season in franchise history in 2022. Paul has a track record of exceeding expectations and lifting teams to places they otherwise would not be.

Advantage: Chris Paul

Player Efficiency Rating

Russell Westbrook: 22.6

Chris Paul: 24.6

A player’s efficiency rating is a decent measurement of what a player does right and what he does wrong on the basketball court. Both of these point guards have a career PER that exceeds 20.0, which is very good for players at their position. Russell Westbrook has a PER that surpassed 22.0 every season from 2011 to 2018. His PER peaked in his MVP season in 2017 with a 30.6 PER which led the NBA. He also led the league in usage percentage and assist percentage that year. His career 22.6 PER ranks 32nd on the all-time list.

Chris Paul has made a living out of having a consistently high PER. As we have already mentioned, Chris Paul is one of the smartest point guards to ever play the game. His high IQ allows him to lead his team to wins while being less and less of a reason why they lose. In his career, Chris Paul has only had one season in which his PER dropped below 20.0 and that was in 2019 with the Houston Rockets. Otherwise, he has been as consistent as you could ask your starting point guard to be. His PER peaked in 2009 with the Hornets when he hit an incredible 30.0 PER. His career 24.6 PER ranks 12th, 20 spots ahead of Westbrook, on the all-time list.

Advantage: Chris Paul

Final Score

Russell Westbrook vs. Chris Paul 1-5

As stated at the beginning, this comparison should not be considered the end all be all for the debate between these 2 legendary point guards. It does, however, give us a great first look into the debate itself. This cannot be a knock against Westbrook whatsoever. He is a winning point guard and easily one of the best to ever play the position. He has an MVP and the all-time triple-doubles record, which shows the impact he has had on basketball. His one down year in 2022 with the Lakers does not erase a peak and career like his.

It should also be noted that I do not think that it is much of a debate between these two. Chris Paul has excelled at directing offenses his entire career. His individual stats will not jump off of the page at you, but his impact on team success should. Never mind the fact that neither of these players has won a championship. There are plenty of other factors that directly affect the outcome of a championship other than the team’s point guard. Chris Paul has elevated the play of every teammate he has ever had. He also has played at an elite level on both sides of the ball, something Westbrook can say is only half true for himself. Whether this information sways your argument or not, we have been more than fortunate to witness these 2 legends play the game we all love so much. 

Next

Stephen Curry vs. Larry Bird Career Comparison: The Duel Between Two Legendary Shooters

LeBron James vs. Stephen Curry Career Comparison: Steph Still Can’t Sit At LeBron James’ Table

LeBron James vs. Tim Duncan Career Comparison: 5 Championships Beats 4, But King James Has The Better Career And More Individual Accolades

Russell Westbrook vs. Allen Iverson Career Comparison: Which Guard Is Truly The Greater Player?

Ray Allen vs. Klay Thompson Career Comparison: Which Legendary Shooter Had The Better Career?