National Basketball Association

Is Russell Westbrook's time as an elite point guard nearing an end?

Updated Aug. 25, 2021 6:11 p.m. ET

Very few players in the NBA have been the lightning rod that Russell Westbrook has been over the course of his career.

With fans arguing about everything from his statistical impact on wins and losses to whether teams can win with him as the starting point guard, Westbrook has been the subject of constant debate.

That surely isn't about to change now that he is a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.

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In fact, Westbrook has already become the subject of a new debate: whether he is still currently a top-10 point guard in the NBA.

USA Today released its rankings of the top 22 point guards in the league Wednesday, and Westbrook clocked in at No. 10.

Westbrook will be a surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer, but for now, he finds himself ranked behind younger guards such as Trae Young (No. 4), Ja Morant (6), De'Aaron Fox (8) and Ben Simmons (9).

Future Hall of Famers Stephen Curry (1), Damian Lillard (2), Kyrie Irving (3) and Chris Paul (5) were also ranked ahead of Westbrook, and Jrue Holiday landed at No. 7 to complete the top 10.

Tenth place might seem low for a player as dynamic as Westbrook, but in the eyes of Skip Bayless, it's a fair ranking due to Westbrook's playoff mediocrity, as he explained on "Undisputed."

"I'm taking nothing away from Russell's total impact because he is a slam dunk Hall of Famer," Bayless said. "Guess what Russ' overall playoff record is in all of the games he has played? He is now 55-56. He is one game under .500 in the playoffs. That's not great."

Even with that under-.500 playoff record, Westbrook has made the playoffs each of the past six seasons and nine of his 11 seasons in the NBA.

And when comparing his stats from last season to those of the nine point guards ahead of him, there's a strong case that he might be undervalued.

Among the top 10 point guards according to USA Today, Westbrook ranked first in rebounds (11.5) and assists (11.7) and sixth in points (22.2). He ranked eighth in 3-point percentage (31.5%) and ninth in field-goal percentage (43.9%).

Whatever Westbrook's perceived weaknesses might be, his effort and desire to compete can never be questioned, and that is one of the main reasons Shannon Sharpe believes he is underrated on the USA Today list.

"Yes, Russell has flaws. I think most of these guys have flaws," Sharpe said. "But playing hard, giving you all-out effort every night is not one of the reasons. He can say something that nobody else on this list besides Chris Paul can say, and that is that he has led the NBA in assists."

If Westbrook is paying attention to the media, he could enter his first season in Los Angeles with yet another chip on his shoulder.

And that could be bad news for the rest of the league.

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