Aging stars often struggle acclimating to their new reality. That’s been the case for Russell Westbrook, who’s spent the last few years in Los Angeles on a gradual decline. He had a solid year for the Clippers in 2024, but Westbrook’s career found new life in Denver during his age-36 season.
Plenty of people discounted Westbrook’s capacity to impact winning with the Nuggets, but he’s done that to this point. His Estimated Plus-Minus (plus-0.5) rebounded to the positives for the first time since his final season in Washington. His 53.6 percent true shooting still sits near the bottom quartile but is the highest mark since 2020 in Houston. He’s defending well once again, wrecking plays with his quick hands, explosion and tighter focus than he’s shown in the past.
How Westbrook Has Fit Well With The Nuggets
No longer a defense-warping primary initiator, Westbrook’s had some trouble slotting into teams as a role player. His energy and explosiveness attacking the basket haven’t fully left, but it’s tough to fit a non-shooting guard who doesn’t score efficiently into most lineups. The Nuggets don’t have an average team, largely due to the presence of Nikola Jokic.
Jokic, arguably the best passer in the history of the league, has opened up new doors for Westbrook as an off-ball player. Their connection has only grown throughout the season and the results reflect it.
While the Westbrook-Jokic pairing struggled to find its footing early, they’re now boat racing teams on the offensive end. Denver boasts the fourth-best offense in the NBA — 119 offensive rating and the fourth-best half-court offense at 103 points per 100 possessions. When Westbrook and Jokic share the floor, Denver scores a sparkling 125.4 points per 100 possessions with an overall net rating of plus-12.9, according to PBP Stats.
Few passers in the history of the NBA locate cutters like Jokic can. With legendary touch, timing, vision and creativity, his teammates feast on hard moves to the rim without the ball. Westbrook’s cutting has only grown after his on-ball prime, weaponizing his speed and explosion in a new way. Their chemistry passing back and forth to generate great shots is already evident.
the westbrook jokic give and go is a thing of beauty pic.twitter.com/EjdKbl71Go
— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) January 15, 2025
Westbrook’s presence alone helps the Nuggets’ offense generate more easy looks at the cup. According to NBA RAPM, the Nuggets’ rim frequency increases by 4.4 percent when he plays. Beyond his great cutting, he’s still a fairly effective secondary driver and dominates in transition as always.
Jokic’s playmaking greatness has helped him score more efficiently than ever around the rim. He’s shooting 65.7 percent at the hoop this season, the highest number of his long NBA career. A career-high 49.5 percent of his shots have been assisted on, helping fuel this strong efficiency. The increase in assisted frequency extends to Jokic; his 71.2 percent assisted rate is a career-high mark, powered by a 66.7 percent assisted rim rate.
russell westbrook is converting a career high at the rim (65%) with nearly 40% of those shots being assisted. he’s cutting machine pic.twitter.com/6VKTM6pQXJ
— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) January 15, 2025
Denver’s Lack Of Depth Is A Problem
While Jokic has been a catalyst for Westbrook’s success this season, he can’t help feed him easy shots from the bench. Westbrook’s lineups without Jokic haven’t produced efficient offense. In 364 minutes with Westbrook on the floor and Jokic off, the Nuggets manage a paltry 104.1 offensive rating and a minus-15.9 overall net rating.
In his prime, Westbrook boosted a team’s floor as well as any other primary initiator. He’s evolved into a ceiling raiser, needing other stars to maximize his value. Without Jokic, defenses key in harder, forcing him to shoot ill-advised jumpers.
Much of that staggering on-off split comes from Denver’s complete lack of center play off the bench and roster limitations as a whole. It’s true Westbrook struggles on offense without Jokic, but he hasn’t had capable backup center play or bench play in general. Some Nugget reserve lineups are reminiscent of the lineups MVP Westbrook carried with Oklahoma City in 2016-17.
Even though his play is breathing fresh air and energy into Denver through a manner of ways, it all may fall inconsequential in the end. With Jamal Murray playing well below his peak powers and a shallow overall roster, the Nuggets might not be able to compete, despite Westbrook’s growth.
Murray’s 45-point explosion against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday provides some glimmer of hope he can return to form. If that happens, Denver will remain a scary postseason contender. In that timeline, with Murray back to operate bench units, Westbrook’s off-ball excellence could help the Nuggets push for another title. Regardless of the outcome, a rejuvenated Russell Westbrook is excellent for NBA basketball.
All stats accurate before games played on Jan. 15.
