"Russell Westbrook shot too much and didn't pass enough during the Oklahoma City Thunder's playoff run. At least, that's what his critics said. Westbrook didn't exactly agree with them.

Westbrook also argued with his coach, Scott Brooks, and his star teammate, Kevin Durant, on the court, leading to speculation that he was feuding with both. And when the Thunder were eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks, Westbrook shouldered most of the blame.

In the two months since, Westbrook hasn't lost much sleep worrying about the criticism.

"I refuse to let myself do that," Westbrook told Yahoo! Sports. "I've been working too hard to get to the position we were in last season to worry about anything somebody else was saying."

Westbrook distinguished himself as one of the NBA's top young guards last season, making the All-Star team and the All-NBA second team. Durant understandably received more recognition after leading the NBA in scoring for the second consecutive season. But it was hard not to pay attention to Westbrook as he averaged career-highs of 21.9 points – an improvement of 5.8 points per game from the previous season – and 8.2 assists.

What caused a stir, however, was Westbrook taking 20.2 shots per game in the playoffs, up from his average of 17 in the regular season. The criticism began when he took 30 shots and missed 18, including all seven of his 3-pointers, in a 104-101 loss to the Denver Nuggets in the first round. And yet he also scored 40 points in a 133-123 triple-OT victory against the Memphis Grizzlies in the second round."