1-on-1: Russell Westbrook vs. Rajon Rondo - Better Late-Blooming Young Point Guard

Today, you know one of these guys as a rim-rattling open-court maestro. The other? As the fearless lead-guard of one of the NBA's most storied franchises.

So if I told you that Russell Westbrook couldn't dunk until his senior year of high school. If I told you that just two years ago, Rajon Rondo was considered the weak link on a title-contending team.

How crazy would you think we were?

Thing is, both of those things are true. And it's the respective rise in each of their games that got us talking around the water cooler.

In one camp, there's the argument for raw athleticism unleashed.

The kind of kid who measures in at a respectable 6'3" 187 - and then gets his elbow stuck in the rim and reaches points on the backboard like guys more than half a foot taller. You know: the guys whose images just last a little longer in your mind when you start thinking about the pantheon of NBA dunkers all-time.

Crazy, when you think back and realize that when Russell was rocking his high school letterman's jacket, dude had about as much hops as the lead trumpet player in the band.

In the other camp, there's the argument for true game management taken to magic levels.

Triple-doubles-in-the-playoffs extremes. The kind of on-court leadership that filled the void of a missing team captain, went face-to-face with the other team's young rising star looking to make his mark and carried his squad on to the next round.

Ridiculous, when you think back and remember that people were saying the Celtics won the chip in spite of Rajon.

So here we are.

The decision is yours. Do you vote in favor of pure physicality? Or do you sway on over to the side on on-court mastery?

Who's the better late-bloomer: Russell Westbrook or Rajon Rondo?