Players without a ring better than Russell Westbrook

Westbrook is great but is he really the greatest player without a ring?

Russell Westbrook just broke the career triple-doubles record once held by Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson. This was not only an amazing accomplishment but it was damn near impossible for 40 years. This brought up the conversation that I saw rotating the sports airwaves if Westbrook is the best player to never win a ring.

So let’s do a comparison with the best of the best.

Karl Malone

Karl Malone is arguably a top 5 power forward of all time so he deserves to be in the conversation. The last time we saw Malone was getting taken down by the Jordan Bulls dynasty but don’t forget how great he was. Malone was named to the All-NBA First Team eleven times in a row, from 1988-89 through 1998-99, and to the All-Defensive First Team three times in a row, from 1996-97 through 1998-99. Malone also is a 2 time-MVP in 1997 and 1999 with over 36,928 which is 25.0 ppg over a 19-year career. 

Looking at all of these accomplishments by Malone it is really hard to argue. Westbrook has the triple-doubles but he doesn’t have the post-season success Malone has had. Malone has had Utah in the championship conversation every year even in the era of Jordan’s Bulls. Malone has more MVPs and more All-Star appearances as well. Westbrook may be a triple-double machine but Malone was a scoring machine withholding the NBA record for most consecutive seasons with over 2,000 points scored, with eleven from 1987-88 to 1997-98.

Malone wins against Westbrook

Charles Barkley 

Barkley is probably my favorite power forward player to watch on tape. Charles who is now the fun-loving critical NBA analyst was once a beast on the floor. I saw him dominate literally every top forward in his era multiple times. Barkley could’ve been going back and forth with Jordan if it wasn’t for the failure to put pieces around him. 

Barkley achieved 12,000 plus career rebounds, 23,000 plus career points, and 4,000 plus career assists. He also achieved All-NBA first teams from 1987-88 to 1990-91,1992-93; second-team 1985-86, 1986-87, 1991-92, 1993-94, 1994-95; third team 1995-96.  Barkley also won an MVP just like Westbrook. The difference is Barekly shot 60% 5 years in a row averaging 25 points a game over that time is impossibly great. So Barkley is way more efficient than Russ with more bang to his buck which led to more success in the postseason. 

Barkley also led a phoenix team to the finals that had no business being in the finals to my recollection. This team also fell to the Jordan dynasty but Barkley wasn’t the problem in that finals averaging 27 a game in that finals.  Barkley was undersized at 6-foot-6 while weighing well over 250 pounds, yet he had no trouble scoring down low over taller, longer opponents because of his strength and explosiveness. He also had great ball-handling and face-up games as well that made him lethally. 

James Harden

James Harden AKA The Beard is on his way to becoming a top 3 shooting guard of all time with the amazing output in the regular season. Harden is definitely better than Russ and this is not as close as people would think. Harden is better than Westbrook than every single way as a basketball player. 

James got close to winning a title again as Paul’s teammate on the Rockets in 2017-18, though another showdown with James, then with the Cleveland Cavaliers, loomed that year, and it’s tough to really say who would have come out victorious. Harden already has one of the most impressive resumes in league history, and considering he’s still just 31 years old and possesses a game not that influenced by elite athleticism.

Harden’s scoring prowess and can be a triple-double maestro himself. Harden has an MVP along with 9 all-star teams and 6 all NBA teams. Harden is averaging 25 points a game for a career and we still have much more basketball to and he’s averaged 30 + points a game in 3 straight seasons. I also won’t ignore how underrated James Harden has been of late on defense. I would say that overall he’s a better on-ball defender than Russ because of his quick hands.