They scratched and clawed, battled and fought, and willed the Thunder to victories all season long. Though their season came to an end earlier than they hoped, both Russell Westbrook and Paul George were recognized by the NBA for their impact on the game during the 2017-18 campaign.
On Thursday, the league announced that Westbrook earned Second-Team All-NBA honors while George was named Third-Team All-NBA. Being rated amongst the top 15 players in the NBA is always a marker of the type of prowess, productivity and prestige that players and their teams celebrate.
This is Westbrook’s 7th selection to the All-NBA team in his career, commemorating yet another historic season in which Westbrook rose to fourth on the all-time triple-doubles list and averaged a triple-double for the season. One year after becoming just the second player besides Oscar Robertson to ever achieve that milestone, Westbrook finished with an average of 25.4 points, 10.3 assists and 10.1 rebounds per game while helping get a brand new group of teammates together to land the fourth seed in the Western Conference. Westbrook also became the Thunder’s all-time leader in total points scored and led the NBA in assists per game this past season.
In his first season in Oklahoma City, Paul George made his 4th career All-NBA team by averaging 21.9 points (the third most in his career) while shooting 40.1 percent from 3-point range (the second-best mark in his career). George made more three pointers in 2017-18 (244) than any other season in his career, while also providing his impressive, high-IQ defense. Finishing 2nd in the NBA in steals helped him receive 22 First Team votes and finishing 12th in voting totals for the All-Defensive Team.
Coming to a new situation, George adjusted and found a comfort zone, and both he and Westbrook are looking forward to honing their craft to make more strides as players this summer.
“It's going back to the gym, getting back into the lab, working on what I need to work on,” George said.
“I always like to put my game into perspective and try to figure out what I can do to be better,” Westbrook added. “I put pressure on myself every summer to make sure I come back better at something, whether it's leadership -- whatever it is, just be better and keep expanding and each year.”
For the Thunder’s official release on the announcement, click here.