When Russell Westbrook signed a two-year, $6.8 million deal to come to the Nuggets, the reaction was mostly negative. ESPN gave the deal a D. Yahoo's Kevin O'Connor called it "a complete disaster fit."

In fairness, the former MVP was coming off an awful playoff series with the Clippers in which he shot 26.0 percent from the field, and his lack of 3-point shooting was a major concern. There were whispers that his time as a useful rotation player may have been over.

There was one person who believed strongly in Westbrook. Nikola Jokic "pushed behind the scenes" to acquire him, according to DNVR's Harrison Wind. Jokic saw what many missed — that the Nuggets could benefit tremendously from what Westbrook is still good at.

Westbrook still isn't much of a shooting threat, but he's been one of Denver's most dependable players and a great fill-in for the injured Aaron Gordon in the starting lineup.

What Russell Westbrook critics missed about fit with Nuggets

Westbrook has amazing chemistry with Nikola Jokic

Some worried that given Westbrook's shooting struggles and need to have the ball in his hands, he would not play well with Jokic. That has turned out to be the complete opposite.

Jokic has always gotten the most out of his teammates. The same is true for Westbrook. The Nuggets have outscored opponents by 11.5 points per 100 possessions with those two on the floor, per PBP Stats. That has been driven by Westbrook's underrated passing and Jokic's excellence. Westbrook has assisted Jokic more than anyone else on the team, looking for the big man constantly down the floor.

Westbrook has also been a capable offensive threat next to Jokic. He still isn't a great spot-up shooter, but he has taken over the Bruce Brown role of Denver's championship days and become a great off-ball cutter. That has never been a large part of Westbrook's game, but he's cutting on by far a career-high 8.2 percent of his possessions this season, per NBA stats.

Jokic's brilliant passing has gotten Westbrook to buy into that movement.

Westbrook was criticized for hijacking offensive possessions in Los Angeles. That has not happened in Denver, and he has been more than happy to play the role of facilitator.

Westbrook is a much better defender than he was given credit for

Westbrook hasn't been known as a particularly great defender during the later stages of his career, so it was somewhat surprising when Michael Malone revealed during the preseason that he planned to lean on Westbrook's defensive ability.

"When people talk about Russell Westbrook, no one really mentions defense," Malone said during the team's media day. "End of games, he was on the opposing team's best player every night."

Malone was right. Westbrook has been inspired on that end of the floor, earning praise throughout the season and several of the coach's Defensive Player of the Game awards. He's had some game-saving sequences.

Westbrook has been much more active in the passing lanes, generating a ton of steals. He's been locked in both as a help and on-ball defender, and he's been a helpful rebounder.

"I think defensively he's been a rockstar," Malone told reporters after the Nuggets beat the Thunder early in the season.

Westbrook is still a very good transition player

Westbrook isn't an easy player to fit into a team. He admitted that after his first training camp practice.

"To be honest, (my skill-set) was unique, they just didn’t put me in position to be unique. I was in a position where I was playing not my position," Westbrook told reporters about why it didn't work out in Los Angeles. "Coach Malone allowing me to use my speed, my transition skill, to make other guys better, makes the game easy."

That quote drew a lot of criticism for a lack of self-awareness on social media, but it turned out to be 100 percent accurate. Westbrook has been much better because of how the Nuggets let him lead their transition attack. They have risen from No. 16 in transition frequency last season to No. 3 this season.

Westbrook has been relentless in pushing the ball down the floor. He's been particularly great at finding Jokic leaking out or hitting the big man for trail 3s. He's still one of the most aggressive players when he's on the floor, and he's capable of getting easy early offense looks despite his advanced age.

There is nobody else in the league quite like Westbrook, and he can look bad in the wrong situation. He's found a good one in Denver, which is allowing him to close out his career gracefully.