The Hoop & The Harm

As NBA fans, we argue about everything. LeBron vs. MJ. Kobe or Shaq. Is KD a better scorer than Kobe? Where does Steph rank all-time? These debates are a fun part of the culture, but let’s be honest: most of them have been driven into the ground. We all know the talking points, we all know which side we’re on, and no one is changing their mind anytime soon.

So instead of rehashing the same tired arguments, this series is about something else entirely: starting NBA arguments that absolutely do not matter. Hyper-specific, obscure, and completely unnecessary. The kind of debates that make you stop and think, “Why did we even start talking about this?”… and then somehow care anyway.

Which brings us to today’s topic:

Should Russell Westbrook rank higher all-time than Michael Jordan… as a Washington Wizard?

By The Numbers

Player	GP	PTS	REB	AST	TS%
Russell Westbrook (2020-21)	65	22.2	11.5	11.7	50.9%
Michael Jordan (2001-03)	142	21.1	5.9	4.4	48.0%

• When you look at the box score numbers, the argument doesn’t really feel close at all. In 2021, Russ put together one of the most underrated and absurd statlines in NBA history, averaging 22.2 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 11.7 assists — his fourth triple-double season in a five-year stretch. Wizards-era MJ, to his credit as a certified old man, more than held his own, averaging 21.2/5.9/4.4 across two seasons. Still, raw production-wise, it just doesn’t compare to what Russ was doing on a nightly basis.
• Once you zoom out and start digging into the advanced metrics, though, things get surprisingly close. Jordan actually has the edge in PER (19.9 vs. 19.5) and Win Shares per 48 minutes (0.089 vs. 0.075), and in his final season at age 39 he posted a 6.2 Win Share year. That’s eerily similar to Russ’s last season in OKC, when he finished with 6.8 Win Shares at age 30. Russ, meanwhile, totaled just 3.7 Win Shares in his lone Washington season. These numbers mostly serve as a reminder of how ridiculous Jordan was, still highly effective and impactful deep into his late-30s, even if the counting stats don’t jump off the page the same way.

Team Success (or Lack Thereof)

• In terms of team success, Russ seems to comes out slightly better, only because he actually reached the playoffs while MJ never did in his two seasons. That said, roster construction matters here. Russ had a pretty significant advantage in Bradley Beal, who averaged 31 points per game and made Third Team All-NBA that season. Russ still deserves credit because he generated a ton of open looks for Beal and was the main floor-general of a high-scoring Wizards offense (3rd overall in the NBA). It’s probably not a coincidence that their lone year together also happened to be the best scoring season of Beal’s career.
• MJ, on the other hand, was the leading scorer on a roster built around a lot of young and developing talent. A second-year Richard Hamilton was the next best option and the only other player to average over 20 points. Jerry Stackhouse took over as the primary scorer in the 2002–03 season, but the roster itself stayed largely the same and clearly lacked high-end talent. Because of that, I’d argue the team success here is basically a wash. Yes, Russ made the playoffs, but it was as an 8-seed in a weak Eastern Conference, and they were bounced in five games in the first round. If we’re being honest, neither Wizards era exactly moved the needle.

Where Do They Rank as All-Time Wizards?

• In the conversation for greatest Wizard of all time, neither Russ nor MJ peaks anywhere close to the top. The real question isn’t if they belong in the discussion…it’s where they belong on the list, and which of the two should be ranked higher.
• Starting with the head-to-head comparison: at the end of the day, I landed on Russ. I’m not a pure box-score-watching fan, and the analytics and context absolutely give MJ a real case here. But the truth is, neither player accomplished much in Washington, and both stints were fairly lackluster in the grand scheme of franchise history. Once you accept that, the tiebreaker becomes simple. You give the nod to the guy who averaged a triple-double, made actual history, and put together one of the more unbelievable statistical seasons we’ve ever seen. MJ deserves serious respect for being nearly 40 years old and still an extremely valuable player (which is why this is even close) but if someone has to be ranked higher, the edge goes to Russ.
• As for where they land all-time, I think they both settle somewhere in the 20–30 range. In my opinion, the top 3 is locked in, with Wes Unseld, Elvin Hayes, and John Wall firmly in their spots. After that, Washington has a long list of low-level stars and high-end contributors who clearly rank above both. Specifically guys like Gilbert Arenas, Bradley Beal, Antawn Jamison, Moses Malone, Chris Webber, and Rod Strickland. Then you hit another tier of players who may not have peaked as high but played longer and left a bigger imprint on the franchise, like Rip Hamilton, Caron Butler, Marcin Gortat, and more. Because Russ and MJ were only brief stops in Washington, they fall below those tiers and end up right next to each other somewhere in the 20s.

Do you agree? And more importantly — what’s another NBA argument that doesn’t matter? Stay tuned.