Detroit Pistons: Jaden Ivey on a Russell Westbrook trajectory

Jaden Ivey has had an up and down season for the Detroit Pistons, which you would expect from a rookie guard who has been thrust into an expanded role with Cade Cunningham out for the season.

Ivey has made his share of mistakes, but has also flashed huge potential, as he is an elite athlete who has all of the makings of a star.

His shot selection has been erratic at times, but then Ivey will do something in the open court or at the rim that brings out the oohs and ahhs, which is why he has been compared to guys like Ja Morant and Russell Westbrook.

Westbrook has been maligned for his shot selection in recent years, but people tend to forget that this guy was the MVP of the league, twice led the NBA in scoring and has also led the league in assists while setting marks for triple doubles. He’s been one of the most productive players of his generation whether you like him or not.

So a comparing Ivey to Westbrook is a big-time compliment, and it is uncanny how similar their stats are through this point in their respective rookie seasons.

Detroit Pistons: Jaden Ivey’s rookie stats compared to Russell Westbrook

Both Jaden Ivey and Russell Westbrook have plus athleticism and the speed to go end to end as fast as anyone in the NBA.

Ivey has only played 37 games so far in his career, but when you compare his stats to Westbrook’s first 37 games, they are almost identical.

Here are Ivey’s numbers so far in his career:

• 14.9 points per game, 4.1 rebounds, 4 assists
• 40% FG and 31.4% 3-point range
• 4.8 free-throw attempts per game 71.8%
• 2.7 turnovers, 1 steal per game

Here are Russell Westbrook’s stats for his first 37 games:

• 14.1 points per game, 4.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists
• 41.5% FG and 31.5% 3-point range
• 4.8 free-throw attempts per game 77.7%
• 3.1 turnovers, 1.5 steals per game

It would be hard to find two players in NBA history whose stats were this close through the first half of their rookie seasons, but there are a few things that stand out.

I think most would agree that both guys should probably take fewer 3-point shots and need to work on their shot selection in general.

It’s very encouraging that Ivey is averaging the exact same number of free-throw attempts as the rookie Westbrook, as Russ has eaten at the free-throw line over the years. It would be nice for Ivey to start hitting a higher percentage of them though, as 71 percent is low for a guard.

Ivey has struggled with turnovers at times, but he is actually lower than Westbrook at this stage in their respective rookie seasons, which is a good sign.

Westbrook kept improving on these numbers and was an All-Star by his third year in the league and eventually morphed into triple/double machine and MVP, which is exactly what the Detroit Pistons are hoping will happen with Jaden Ivey.

He’s off to a good start, and has the second half of the season to keep developing and improving.