Why 2014-15 Season Could Be the Year of Russell Westbrook

In Kevin Durant's acceptance speech for the 2014 MVP award, some of the most heartfelt sentiments were saved for teammate Russell Westbrook.

"I could speak all night about Russell," Durant told the audience. "An emotional guy who will run through a wall for me. I don't take it for granted."

The next part rang especially true.

"A lot of people put unfair criticism on you as a player and I'm the first to have your back, man, though it all," Durant added. "Just stay the person you are. Everybody loves you here." 

Everybody loved Westbrook even more after a postseason performance in which he far exceeded his regular-season averages across the board, tallying three triple-doubles in the process. Even with the Oklahoma City Thunder's back against the wall in the conference finals, the 25-year-old's 40-point, 10-assist and five-steal Game 4 effort translated into one of two wins against the eventual-champion San Antonio Spurs.

The love affair with Westbrook could be vindicated once and for all by a 2014-15 campaign for the ages, one that picks up where the playoffs left off.

One that sends a message to those who still believe Durant has somehow been disadvantaged by the superstar at his side.

After a regular season in which Westbrook missed 36 games (most on account of undergoing surgery on his right knee), it was tempting to view Oklahoma City's success as a reminder that this was still Durant's team—and Durant's team alone.

Indeed, Westbrook's absence paved the way for Durant to prove he could carry a team at an MVP level, at least during the regular season. When he went missing from the 2013 playoffs, not even Durant could keep OKC's ship afloat.

And when last season's MVP accolades subsided, it was Westbrook who laid the foundation for a potentially transcendent 2014-15 season, playing a pivotal role in a postseason push that nearly resulted in another Finals appearance.

In 19 playoff games last season, the six-year veteran had averaged 26.7 points, 8.1 assists, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 steals—the kind of numbers that almost make you wonder who this team's real MVP is.

When it comes to the games that matter—then and now—Westbrook is more necessity than luxury.

To be sure, the UCLA product continues to attract—and perhaps deserve—his fair share of criticism. Even his highly productive postseason run came replete with some woefully uneven shooting performances. His best games are sometimes marred by questionable decisions.

Public opinion has softened since the harsh judgment Magic Johnson issued during the 2012 Finals.

"That was the worst point guard in a championship finals I've ever seen,'' Johnson said during halftime of Game 2, per the Sun Sentinel's Harvey Fialkov. "He was too wild, he was taking off-balance shots. You gotta come out and set the tone with Kevin Durant.''

Westbrook was characteristically unapologetic, afterward saying, "I'm not making no adjustments. Regardless of what anybody says or regardless of what you guys say about how I play, it doesn't matter. I'm going to play my game."

With three All-Star selections to his name, Westbrook's confidence is and was well-founded.

He's a dynamic scorer built to create havoc with his lightning quickness and penchant for stopping on a dime for pull-up jumpers. His length and athleticism have made him a versatile two-way threat capable of overwhelming many an opposing point guard.

Indeed, his most defining virtues are almost indistinguishable from the kind of vices Magic once cited.

The intensity. The unpredictability. The willingness to take over.

Grantland's Brian Phillips put it aptly in May:

He'd never be a true point guard. That was clear early. Not because he couldn't distribute the ball; his feel for the game got better year over year, as did his numbers. (5.3 assists his first season, then 8.0, then 8.2.) But a point guard lives in the calm at the center of the game, in the silent geometry of it. Westbrook lived in the roar. Build him a basketball game and he'd try to knock it over, like a toddler with a block tower. Build him another one and he'd knock it over again. The Russ Paradox: He was a creator whose medium was rubble.

One way of understanding Westbrook—and perhaps the perception thereof—is by contrasting him with that which he is not.

Namely, Chris Paul.

Long the league's model floor general, Paul is patient, poised and cerebral. He carefully picks and chooses his opportunities to strike, often preferring instead to create opportunities for others and orchestrate a methodical offense.

Put in that context, Westbrook may indeed be something of a wayward point guard in the eyes of purists. More and more, however, he looks a whole lot like a pioneer.

It's one thing to rival the game's most established point guard. It's quite another to redefine the position altogether.

Going forward, it's unlikely Westbrook will radically alter his game. Though there may be some adjustments, there's little reason to risk compromising an approach that's proven so effective at the highest levels.

Even the smallest improvements, however, pose a significant threat to the rest of the league.

Now entering the prime of his career, Westbrook reasons to be slightly more refined. Lessons have been learned. Chemistry has been built. Painful defeats have fueled heightened motivation.

As executive vice president and general manager Sam Presti recently told reporters, "We're really looking forward to this season. We have a good group of guys and a good group of people. We have a purpose with what we're trying to accomplish as an organization and as a team. It's a wonderful thing to be around."

Westbrook has never been especially short on passion, but it's scary to imagine what he might do with a renewed sense of purpose.

A couple of other variables may contribute to the year of Russell Westbrook.

He wisely opted to rest this summer rather than participate in Team USA's gold-winning performance at the FIBA World Cup in Spain. There's a time and place for patriotism, but now is the time to put health first.

Westbrook also proposed to longtime girlfriend Nina Earl in September. She said yes—phew.

By now, Westbrook has pretty much already become the player he's going to be. 

But this is a league where little things make the difference. Health, rhythm, psychology—supposed intangibles that demonstrably elevated the Spurs to a championship last season even when their on-paper talent portended more modest results.

Intangibles that might similarly elevate Westbrook himself to his finest season yet.