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By Reid Coleman

The NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers are 12-12 so far this season. Are the Lakers not supposed to be the second-best team in the NBA? After all, during the offseason, they signed Russell Westbrook, and they now have a combined 57 All-Star Selections, with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo, and DeAndre Jordan. Many of these players are past their prime, yet James, Davis, and Westbrook are still considered to be top players in the NBA. These three players are also considered the “Big Three” of the Lakers. 

So, how does a team with so much veteran experience and three of the supposedly best players in the NBA compile a record of 12-12? A meager record for a team with three supposed superstars in James, Davis, and Westbrook?

The Lakers’ Big Three: LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook. Photo credit: Adam Pantozzi, Getty Images.

One might point to the fact that James has been injured for a large portion of those games, and some might argue that the Lakers are underperforming because James is not on the court. However, this argument is invalid, because the Lakers should be able to win with two superstars on the floor. If Westbrook really is a superstar, then he and Davis should be able to manage to win games without James. Simply put, Westbrook has turned a veteran, star-studded team into a second-rate team sitting at 8th in the Western Conference, on track to barely make the playoffs.

Westbrook, 33 years old and one of the supposed stars on the team, is the player leading the team to mediocrity. 

Yes, he does average 19.3 points per game. However, this is Westbrook’s lowest number of points per game since his 2009-2010 season, and he is being extremely inefficient, shooting 42.9% from the field. Westbrook is also shooting an abysmal 28.7% from the three-point line on 4.4 attempts per game; his shooting percentage is ranked 143rd in the league. 

In fact, Westbrook’s PER (player efficiency rating) is a 16.04, which is ranked 107th in the NBA. All these stats mean that Westbrook is being extremely inefficient and wasting offensive possessions. He does average the 33rd most points in the league, yet he is doing it on an absurd amount of shot attempts. 

Russell Westbrook with his head in his hands after another turnover. Photo credit: Latest Breaking News.

Westbrook is a point guard, and for this position, scoring is not the main aspect. Instead, point guards are tasked with controlling the game and getting teammates involved. One might argue that Westbrook does this fairly well, given that he averages an impressive 8.7 assists per game, 4th in the league. If you look more closely, however, you would discover that Westbrook also averages 4.9 turnovers per game, the 2nd most in the NBA. How can Westbrook be controlling the pace and tempo of the game if he is averaging almost five turnovers a game?

The answer is that teams know that Westbrook cannot shoot the ball well. In turn, they protect the other Lakers’ players more and leave Westbrook open to shoot the ball. Simply by being on the floor, Westbrook is hurting his teammates by allowing opposing defenses to focus in on them. 

One prime example of Westbrook actually making his teammates worse (the opposite of what a star point guard should do) is Wayne Ellington. Ellington is known for his sharp shooting ability. Last year, Ellington averaged 22 minutes per game, while shooting 44.2% from the three point line on 6 attempts per game. This year, Ellington averages a similar 20.1 minutes per game and shoots a comparable 5.6 three point attempts per game. However, this year Ellington is shooting a meager 33.9% from the three point line. Because Westbrook is not much of a shooting threat, teams cover the other players more, and they are not able to play to their full potential. 

Westbrook started his career in 2008 on the Oklahoma City Thunder, when he averaged 15.3 points per game and was elected to the NBA All-Rookie First-Team. Westbrook continued to thrive for the Thunder and went on to have seven All-Star selections, nine playoff appearances, and one NBA Finals appearance with the team. However, Westbrook’s best season by far was the 2016-17 year, when he averaged a triple-double (31.6 points, 10.4 assists, and 10.7 rebounds) and was named the MVP of the entire league. In 2018, Westbrook was traded to the Houston Rockets, where he had a solid All-Star season and, along with James Harden, helped lead the team to the Western Conference Finals. The following year, he was traded to the Washington Wizards and competed in the second round of the NBA Playoffs. Again, following that season, he was traded and joined the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Westbrook has had extreme individual success throughout his long, illustrious career. However, he has had very little team success, having only one NBA Finals appearance in the 2011-2012 season. Recently, teams have begun to realize that he has limited value and can be detrimental to the team’s success, which is why he has been traded three times in the past three seasons. 

If the Lakers really want to make it to the NBA Championship this year, the only solution is to trade Russell Westbrook. Until then, be on the lookout for continued mediocrity from the Lakers.