nowhathappenedwas | NBA

157 | 6 hours ago

This is dumb for many reasons.

2020 - 1 series win, 5 games won

Westbrook missed the first 4 games of the 2020 playoffs (2 wins you’re crediting him with) and was awful when he played (18/7/5 with 3.8 TOV on 46% TS).

2025 - 1 series win, 7 games won

Westbrook missed game 4 (a win) in the first round, which you credited him for.

Westbrook in the playoffs since 2019: 15/6/5 on 46% TS

Durant in the playoffs since 2019: 30/8/5 on 61% TS

SloshaPacana

63 | 6 hours ago

KD as a player makes people legit dumber than they already are

Westbrook fans especially who already are dumb but it’s just hilarious

Westbrook has been so fucking bad in the playoffs since KD left, he’s taken more shots than Harden in a series despite Harden shooting way better, took more shots than PG despite PG shooting way better

He’s just a brain dead player, for Denver last year was so fucking bad vs OKC that with another good point guard who is not shooting 20% from three they win that, Denver were fucking 20 points better without him on the floor, their offense went to shit and their defense went to shit

lani_brah | Spurs

11 | 5 hours ago

In his defense, he took more shots than PG because PG was playing with two injured shoulders that needed surgery.

SloshaPacana

16 | 5 hours ago

Why did he take more shots than KD in a finals where KD was healthy averaging 31ppg on 20% better shooting? Why did he take more shots than Harden? Why did he take more shots than PG when PG was healthy, both series they played together he took more

It’s very simple, he’s brain dead as a player when it comes to shot selection

lani_brah | Spurs

2 | 5 hours ago

I mean yeah I’m not really defending the series with Harden or KD.

Just saying his last season in OKC, PG could barely lift his shoulders and was ass for most of the series except their last game (needed surgery in the off-season). Before that injury, they were a top three defensive team, top ten offense, number four in fast break points and on pace for iirc 53 or 55 wins. That injury destroyed their team cohesion and Russ reverted to hero ball.

SloshaPacana

11 | 4 hours ago

Russ didn’t “revert to hero ball”, hero ball is his default mode which u cannot seem to comprehend, again PG was healthier in the other series yet he took more shots..

Are you reading? Even if PG was not 100% he was still a better scorer and was doing much better, Westbrook was just being Westbrook, even in the elimination game PG was ²⁄₃ in the 4th and Westbrook decided to be brain dead went ²⁄₇ with 4 turnovers and was so bad

lani_brah | Spurs

-1 | 4 hours ago

If you say so. I just know from watching them that whole season, the difference was night and day before and after he got injured. Russ was playing as a pure facilitator and shooting way less for the first ²⁄₃ of the season (which is what I mean by ‘reverted’ to hero ball—he wasn’t playing hero ball for once in his career and the results were amazing).

They proceeded to go 11 of 22 after the injury (and even that was only due to a lucky win streak at the very end). They would’ve definitely made the WCF over Portland if not for that.

infalliBee

-1 | 2 hours ago

Probably because Durant is and has always been a passive player. Their offense would have suffered even more without the dynamic nature of his play, especially due to their lack of spacing.

Neto34 | Clippers

0 | 4 hours ago

To be fair Russ was the reason Denver beat the clippers in the first round. Fucker shot lights out from 3 including huge 3 in game 1 to save the nuggets from losing.

raoulraoul153 | NBA

15 | 3 hours ago

Durant in the playoffs since 2019: 30/8/5 on 61% TS

Jesus fucking Christ, I just looked this up and somehow it’s true.

That is almost literally unbelievable for a guy on the wrong side of 30 and an Achilles tear.

The 12 games (of a 32-game sample) in ‘21 when he averaged 34ppg are doing a lot of heavy lifting here, but even so, he averaged 29ppg in 11 games in ‘23. Just unreal.

Looks like the series’ dragging his score down are the ‘22 series where Boston swept the Nets and doubled him aggressively, and the ‘24 series when the Wolves swept the Suns.

BasedChad69420 | Nigeria

1 | 24 minutes ago

Interesting. I thought individual stats didn’t matter if your team didn’t win in the playoffs? At least that’s what people on here told me

JaysonTatecum | Celtics

1 | 13 minutes ago

Yes, we call those r/NBACirclejerk users, don’t take their opinions too seriously

DolphinRodeo | Trail Blazers

5 | 3 hours ago

People like this don’t care if what they’re saying is true. They just want to criticize players they don’t like. It’s becoming a very common way to be a fan unfortunately. Wish Reddit had an NBA for kids sub to help give these posts a more appropriate home

Alfakennyone | Nuggets

3 | 3 hours ago

Username checks out

Neemzeh | Timberwolves

-2 | 4 hours ago

It’s also just dumb because of the salary difference each one demands. Westbrook is like a min salary guy now, KD still demanding 40+ mil a year. Imagine if it was reversed, KD would absolutely be feasting way more than Westbrook ever did.

paddiction | SAS

0 | 4 hours ago

Isn’t it the opposite? KD is paid to be a top player and he should be able to carry his team to wins. He should have more wins than Westbrook

ButlerFromDowntown | Bulls

8 | 3 hours ago

I don’t think that logic makes much sense. High paid guys and low paid guys are pretty spread out around the league and every team has some of them. You’ll have some low paid guys with a lot of wins just due to the teams they’re on (as well as low paid guys with few wins, high paid guys with few wins, and high paid guys with a lot of wins). The salary argument doesn’t really prove anything.

Neemzeh | Timberwolves

-5 | 3 hours ago

Yes there is an argument that KD is less valuable than his contract but it doesn’t mean he’s a worse player than Westbrook obviously. That’s the point and why this is stupid. But i could say the same thing about any end of bench scrub that doesn’t play. That end of bench scrub has done nothing to help his team win playoff games so the comparison to KD is irrelevant.

paddiction | SAS

-6 | 3 hours ago

The bottom line is that we’d rather have Westbrook on a playoff team for the minimum, than KD on a playoff team for a near max

Neemzeh | Timberwolves

6 | an hour ago

This is an extremely stupid take. You’re basically saying that the only reason their teams are winning or losing is because of them and nothing else.

No, I would absolutely rather have Durant on my team in the playoffs instead of Westbrook, regardless of cost. Would you rather have Boston’s 13th man for the playoffs or Durant? It’s the exact same thing. Westbrook is garbage now, nobody would want him in their playoff rotation over Durant regardless of cost lmfao

BasedChad69420 | Nigeria

-22 | 6 hours ago

I’m just noticing. Btw, I do agree KD has been clearly better since 2019. It is really dumb to use Russ’s counting stats from 2020 when he was literally playing with a torn quad and rushed back to play through it in the playoffs

nowhathappenedwas | NBA

21 | 6 hours ago

I’m just noticing.

You know your other comments in this thread are visible, right?

BasedChad69420 | Nigeria

-18 | 6 hours ago

Yeah, it sure is noticeable how much I’m noticing, hrm? 😝

Worluvus | NBA

15 | 6 hours ago

“I’m just noticing”

BasedChad69420 | Nigeria

-15 | 6 hours ago

Yeppers.

sheetsofsaltywood | Grizzlies

151 | 5 hours ago

As a bonafide KD hater, I am FEASTING

FrancoGYFV | Cavaliers

16 | 4 hours ago

Amen

dae5oty

18 | 3 hours ago

Ausar

smellytwoshoes | 76ers

46 | 6 hours ago

This is hilarious, Westbrick fans poking their heads up to defend his play during the 2020s. Dude was a shell of his former self.

tickub | NYK

2 | 2 hours ago

he wasn’t even winning that much when he was his former self

BasedChad69420 | Nigeria

-4 | 6 hours ago

Just noticing some fun stats 🤗

RedtheGamer100 | Hornets

0 | 6 hours ago

somethin tells me you ran this shit by ChatGPT to verify it was accurate 😂😂😂

BasedChad69420 | Nigeria

10 | 6 hours ago

I literally counted on my fingers, lol. This is a very simple stat

RedtheGamer100 | Hornets

-21 | 6 hours ago

sure bud 😂😂😂

BasedChad69420 | Nigeria

14 | 5 hours ago

The average r/nba user could do this from memory dude

RedtheGamer100 | Hornets

-18 | 5 hours ago

evidently you below average 🤓

atlfalcons33rb | Warriors

30 | 6 hours ago

Kinda crazy people post stuff like this as if KD didn’t tear his damn Achilles. The fact he’s even still this good is insane

BasedChad69420 | Nigeria

-28 | 6 hours ago

Just noticing 🤗

GregEgg4President | Wizards

27 | 6 hours ago

The r/nba version of Joe Rogan’s “I’m just asking questions.”

Certain_Bet_8970

12 | 5 hours ago

Literally lying and spreading misinformation lol

sorendiz | HOU

8 | 4 hours ago

Ultimate bum behavior

Dunno if you’re just a KD hater (in which case, carry on agendamaxxing, that’s whatever) but if you’re actually trying to prop up Russ with this…. just have to laugh lmao

anonymous_teve | Pacers

7 | 4 hours ago

“If you discount his two titles, he has the same number of titles as the guy with no titles”.

bhau_huni | Cavaliers

8 | 6 hours ago

Ope

TheBlessedBoy99 | Raptors

6 | 4 hours ago

First off, choosing the cut off to be the year KD left the Warriors, where he made the finals three years in a row while winning two Finals MVPs is just blatant cherry-picking. “If you remove the most successful years from KD’s career, he’s just as successful as Westbrook.”

Second, the comparison itself is meaningless too. Westbrook has been a role player struggling to make a roster for the last several years, while KD has been the star on every team he’s been on. It’s like trying to compare a role player’s career success to a superstar’s. You can to some degree, but when you get down to it, one’s a bus rider and the other is KD a bus driver.

I am neither a Westbrook nor KD fan, but this is just embarrassing.

logicalcommenter4 | Wizards

5 | 3 hours ago

Agreed 100%. This is like saying Robert Horry has more rings than Kobe.

joeb1ow

-4 | 3 hours ago

It’s not cherry picking since the selected year is when WB and Durant first had their own team apart from one another once you eliminate the anomaly of the Warriors affording Durant for three years because of the influx of media money (which will never happen again due to rule changes). Before then their playoff results were shared. This is pretty much apples to apples.

TheBlessedBoy99 | Raptors

4 | 3 hours ago

Durant left OKC, and therefore Westbrook, starting in the 2016-17 season. This data starts with the 2019-20 season.

joeb1ow

-4 | 3 hours ago

You quoted my edited post, but maybe didn’t read it. I account for the three Warrior years like the OP did.

His post was interesting because it highlights what happened between the two players after they separated if you put aside the atypical anomaly situation of the 73-win Warriors being gifted Durant in his prime. That was due to the media contract renewal spiking the salary cap to crazy levels to make it possible.

Swimming-Discount-41

3 | 4 hours ago

It doesn’t prove that Russ is better than kd but it sure as hell is how the cookie winded up crumbling

Nails__DeChamp | Magic

2 | 5 hours ago

Amazing username and flair combo by OP here.

Malcolm Gladwell would be proud of you.

tompengu | Thunder

1 | 6 hours ago

Ahh, that’s pretty interesting.

beiherhund | Thunder

1 | 4 hours ago

It’s a useless, misleading stat that means little but I’m here for it. Genuinely didn’t expect that. Russ’s stint on the nuggets helped but it’s not like KD hasn’t had his absolute pick of teams and players.

nicholaschubbb

3 | 4 hours ago

Definitely a big difference between winning as the #1 option and winning as a bench / role player on a significantly lower contract

beiherhund | Thunder

-1 | 3 hours ago

Certainly but again KD has been on fairly stacked teams and is still a great player so it’s all the more surprising.

KKilikk

3 | 2 hours ago

1 stacked team since the Warriors.

KD was on a stacked Nets team famous for tough injury luck and Kyrie refusing to take the vaccine and play.

He was on a mediocre Suns teams with incredibly poor team construction.

He is on a mediocre Houston team due to injuries and poor team construction (and coaching).

logicalcommenter4 | Wizards

-2 | 3 hours ago

It’s not too surprising when you see his supporting cast included the Covid era with Kyrie and then Harden wanting to exit Brooklyn. Then in Phoenix they brought in Bradley Beal and just had a horribly formed team.

It is REALLY hard to win in the NBA playoffs because players are hurt each year and it ends up being a game of attrition.

beiherhund | Thunder

-1 | an hour ago

I think you guys are reading too much into it.

It’s not a serious stat, I said as much from the beginning. It’s still a surprising stat, even for those who’ve watched his career since OKC season by season. The fact is that his rosters, on paper, have been very good, and KD as a player is still very good, so it’s surprising that when you look back on it all a few years later that he doesn’t have much to show for it.

That’s it, that’s all there is to it. No need to go any deeper, it’s a stat that doesn’t hold up to scrutiny but is 100% going to shock people who weren’t around to see these years.

logicalcommenter4 | Wizards

1 | an hour ago

I don’t think my response reading too much into anything personally. I just don’t find it surprising because of how difficult it is to win in the NBA and the circumstances of the team he was on.

nicholaschubbb

1 | 43 minutes ago

On paper the rosters have been pretty good only if you ignore all context surrounding it. If even one of Kyrie or Harden was fully healthy in the bucks series I’d put a substantial amount of money down that they would win that series in 6 games.

The suns roster ran into the nuggets in 2023 who ran through every team in the league. Beyond that I think the general consensus is the suns roster was fundamentally flawed especially with Beal + the wolves were actually nice that year (beating the pretty heavily favored nuggets).

beiherhund | Thunder

1 | 40 minutes ago

On paper the rosters have been pretty good only if you ignore all context surrounding it

That’s exactly what “on paper” means.

bruhbro-_-

1 | 3 hours ago

This would be more interesting of a comparison if it was Harden and from the time of the KD warriors through now.

fairlife42g

1 | 3 hours ago

Insane since both of them joined teams with superstars all around the league.

Crouching_Lion

1 | 3 hours ago

He’s playing for the legacy man. Dude don’t care about winnning no more.

TransportationOk3287 | Celtics

1 | an hour ago

lol everyone hopping on the KD hate bandwagon for karma rn

Old_Supermarket_7575 | Thunder

1 | an hour ago

He ain’t shit without a top 5 point guard all time setting him up

DJ_HASH | Cavaliers

1 | an hour ago

These are 2 of my favorite players, the 2015 thunder got me interested in basketball. KD vs Russ is the only good rivalry in the nba. Their head to head games are always epic.

erog84 | Suns

1 | an hour ago

OP’s iq lower than kds second half points.

[deleted]

0 | 6 hours ago

[deleted]

Niceguydan8

4 | 6 hours ago

KD is choosing all of these teams tho, lol

ihatedougford | Toronto Huskies

-2 | 6 hours ago

And contributing to their demises

No-Particular-8389

1 | 6 hours ago

Yeah man it’s KD’s fault that his teammates can’t make shots to save their life or capitalize on double teams and help him deal with them. Sengun is genuinely the worst multiple time all star in nba history and cannot make a shot unless it’s 3 feet from the basket and he can’t even do that right now.

Spare-Associate-5063 | Lakers

0 | 6 hours ago

Damn Luka won 13 in 1 playoff run.

Daki399 | Nuggets

-1 | 5 hours ago

We know KD is a bus rider but damnnn . Hes definitively missing leadership and playmaking to be a team leader and number option despite his great talent

QuietMonsoon3314

-2 | 5 hours ago

there are still westbricks fans left? lmao ringless turtle

GoHomeHippy

-1 | 3 hours ago

KD is Carmelo Anthony if melo joined the heatles instead of the knicks

Smoothw

-2 | 5 hours ago

Do people realize KD is 37, like why are people surprised he doesn’t look great in the playoffs, especially on a team without a point guard.

samhit_n | Lakers

2 | 4 hours ago

I’d normally agree that not every player will age like LeBron, but KD was genuinely great during the regular season. He’s struggling with the defense the Lakers are playing against him.

logicalcommenter4 | Wizards

2 | 3 hours ago

Isn’t he also injured though? Even being injured he dropped 23 points on 7-12 shooting. The turnovers are killer though so that’s a fair knock on his performance.

okiewxchaser | Thunder

-3 | 4 hours ago

Love him or hate him, Russ never shies away from driving the bus

Andarte | PHI

4 | 3 hours ago

Usually into a wall made of bricks.

soycameron | Trail Blazers

-2 | 5 hours ago

Huge Russ fan here, and I know these stats are very bullshit when we bring context in but…

I love it, fuck KD. Dude has been useless in the playoffs since his Warriors days. He can’t be a first option on a playoff team. It’s as simple as that.

Swimming-Discount-41

4 | 4 hours ago

Useless? What are we doing here lol

soycameron | Trail Blazers

0 | 3 hours ago

Obviously im wrong lol I just like hating on KD

Natural-Home4255 | Lakers

-7 | 6 hours ago

Kevin Durant (KD) has struggled to achieve deep playoff success since leaving the Golden State Warriors in 2019, securing only two series wins (2021, 2023) and winning fewer total playoff games compared to some of his peers, including stretches where he was swept in the first round. However, specific claims comparing his win count to Russell Westbrook’s, especially in the 2019-2026 timeframe, are often context-dependent, with data indicating and.

tompengu | Thunder

9 | 6 hours ago

There’s no way this isn’t AI

michelobX10

3 | 6 hours ago

It definitely is. His whole name spelled out along with the “(KD)” right after was a dead giveaway.

Natural-Home4255 | Lakers

-6 | 6 hours ago

no ai im samir libari “Chico Loco 40” Artist & Producer form morocco

kellydayscruff

-7 | 6 hours ago

kd has never been a winner but everyone ignored it because the media was always stalking lebron. but now that bron is halfway out the door, KD is getting the spotlight on his weaknesses. but this is an udoka failure more than kd

AffectionateSpare677

5 | 5 hours ago

Went to the finals before the warriors and made the thunder a perennial contender. Wtf are you talking about? So easily influenced by recent events

Frodounchainedd | Lakers

2 | 5 hours ago

Sam presti put that team together it’s not a case of Kevin Durant and role players. 2 other future mvps on that team and a well built roster.

kellydayscruff

-1 | 5 hours ago

I literally said this is not on kd but the coaching but the pain in your knees from being on them for so long has hindered your comprehension ability.

ihatedougford | Toronto Huskies

-13 | 6 hours ago

Westbrook was the best player on OKC in 2016

FigNo507

8 | 6 hours ago

That’s laughably wrong

BasedChad69420 | Nigeria

-3 | 6 hours ago

Yup. Finished higher in MVP voting, made 1st team All-NBA over KD, outplayed him in the playoffs. He also dominated KD in advanced metrics, until they changed the BPM/VORP formulas for the specific purpose of making Russ score worse.

KD only looked better vs. San Antonio, and that was because Kawhi was guarding Russ and KD was guarded by Danny Green.

It was so insane to witness that even the analytics nerds who despise Russ admitted he had surpassed KD as OKC’s #1: https://np.reddit.com/r/nba/s/HEXQfljNRl

Russ was better than KD for at least 3 years: 2014-15 (when KD was injured and Russ was scoring champ), 2015-16, and 2016-17 where Russ won MVP averaging 32/11/10 and had over a +63 net on off rating in the playoffs.

nowhathappenedwas | NBA

11 | 6 hours ago

Full list of every season Westbrook had a better EPM than Durant:

2020 (because Durant missed the season)

BasedChad69420 | Nigeria

-2 | 6 hours ago

Yes, because they changed the formulas for these stats for the explicit reason of making Westbrook look worse. This isn’t me assuming their intent, they literally said it themselves

So yeah, go ahead and use explicitly biased metrics to criticize Russ. It’s what the creators would have wanted

Why was BPM changed?

The simplest answer: Russell Westbrook. Westbrook’s 2016-17 MVP season graded out at 15.6 in the original BPM. Essentially, his 10.7 RPG and 10.4 APG broke the interaction terms between those statistics. So Westbrook’s great season ended up being 20% better than any other season in the database, which just didn’t pass the smell test. Along similar lines, assists without rebounds and rebounds without assists were penalized in the original BPM.

nowhathappenedwas | NBA

9 | 6 hours ago

You should learn the difference between BPM (which is entirely based on box scores) and EPM.

BasedChad69420 | Nigeria

-1 | 6 hours ago

Damn. Silly me, I don’t know my VORPs and SNORPs. My rest of my argument is crushed. Time to delete my account 💔

Since KD left the super team Warriors in 2019, he has won fewer playoff games than Russell Westbrook and they have the same number of playoff series wins (2)