Russell Westbrook is a talented NBA player who bursts with energy. He has every skill needed to achieve greatness, but most importantly, he has a drive for success.
Besides being the league leader in triple-doubles, Russell has international achievements: he has two gold medals, one from the 2010 FIBA World Cup and another from being a part of Team USA at the Olympics in 2012.
He’s used to stuffing the stat sheet night in and night out, and he is considered a massive triple-double threat and a wild card, for better or worse. You never know what to expect from him, and to find out what made him so special, we have to go back to his roots.
Russell Westbrook – Early Life
Russell Westbrook III was born in sunny Long Beach on November 12th, 1988 as a son of Russell Westbrook and Shannon Horton. He grew up in Hawthorne. His dream was to go to UCLA and play basketball together with his best friend Khelcey Barrs III. Sadly, his childhood pal died from an enlarged heart while they were playing a pickup game. Russell wears a wristband with his friends’ initials “KB3” to every game he plays.
Russell Westbrook – High School
As a kid, Russell Westbrook wasn’t very tall and weighed only 140 pounds. Due to his small size, he wasn’t a starter for Leuzinger High School’s basketball team until his junior year. Sadly, his dreams of becoming a pro were hanging by a thread as he didn’t get any recruitment offers. Then, in the summer before his senior year, he grew 5 inches and started to interest recruiters. He averaged more than 25 points per game in his final year in high school and managed to be recruited by his beloved UCLA Bruins.
Russell Westbrook – College Career
Believe it or not, Russell Westbrook wasn’t a starter in college. He was mainly used as a defender and an energy player. As he wasn’t playing much, or putting up big numbers during his rookie season. In his sophomore year, he became a full-time player, because his teammate was injured. It became pretty clear that Westbrook had already outgrown the NCAA, so he declared for the 2008 NBA Draft.
Russell Westbrook – Oklahoma City Thunder
Energetic Russell Westbrook was drafted by Seattle Supersonics which were in process of transferring to Oklahoma. He became a point guard for Thunder, along with All-Star Kevin Durant. He recorded his first triple-double in his rookie year, an achievement that put him amongst such great players as Chris Paul. He was chosen to the All-NBA Rookie First Team.
Even though the Thunder were eliminated by the Lakers in the following season, Westbrook took a step forward and secured his spot as a promising player by averaging 20 points per game in the playoffs. In the following seasons, Russell Westbrook was selected to the All-Star team two times and scored career-high 43 points in a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Despite Westbrook’s efforts, the Thunder were unable to win in the NBA Finals, which was the first time for Oklahoma to participate in finals since the franchise relocated. They were beaten by the Miami Heat in five games.
Russell Westbrook – Flooded with Injuries
The 2012-13 season started promising as Russell became an All-Star once again, but he injured his knee and had to undergo surgery. The convalescence was prolonged as he had another surgery in the off-season. He came back stronger and recorded the eighth triple-double in his career in December 2013. He gave all he got and it was a mistake, as the day after the game it turned out that he had to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and will be out for at least a month.
Despite his absence, the Thunder were able to stay competitive throughout this period thanks largely to Kevin Durant’s outstanding performances. When Russell came back he couldn’t play full time and sit out some of the games.
Unfortunately, the injuries were common in the Thunder team at that time. Russell joined Durant on the bench at the start of the 2014-15 season. The situation was hopeless until Westbrook got back to the game, followed soon by Durant. Individually, Westbrook achieved greatness, becoming All-Star MVP and established himself as a triple-double threat and tying up Michael Jordan’s record with four consecutive triple-doubles with more than 40 points scored. After his benching and successful comeback, he assisted the Thunder in winning the final two games of the 2014-15 season, but it was not enough to entice them into the playoffs.
The 2015-16 season was iconic for the Westbrook and Durant duo as they both scored over 40 points in one game and went down in NBA history as two players who did it multiple times. Westbrook won his second All-Star Game MVP award, had 15 triple-doubles in one season (6 in one month) but it still wasn’t enough to reach the Finals or even get past the Golden State Warriors.
Russell Westbrook – Best Point Guard for MVP
After the season, Durant left the Thunder and turned to free agency, eventually signing with their biggest enemy, Golden State Warriors. Russell became the brightest star on the team, a position that can be extremely difficult but also immensely rewarding.
In the 2016-17 season opener, Westbrook recorded another triple-double and started the year with a triple-double streak, going as far as 7. He became the first player to average a triple-double in the entire season. He autonomously carried the team to the playoffs, but basketball isn’t one man’s sport, it wasn’t enough. He was appreciated for his effort and was chosen Most Valuable Player of 2017.
As time passed, Westbrook’s skills became more obvious.. Miraculously, his individual performances from 2017 to 2019 didn’t drop at all, even though he was more tightly defended. He averaged triple-doubles for the second and the third time. It was obvious that Russell needed a new team. He broke records while the team was swept time after time in the first round of playoffs. 2019 was time for a trade.
Russell Westbrook – Houston Rockets
In 2019 Westbrook joined his long-lost friend, James Harden, in the Houston Rockets squad. Upon warm welcoming, the boys lost their first game together since 2012, but they quickly managed to pick up the pieces. Russell Westbrook was going strong with his triple-doubles. On January 20th, he scored a triple-double against former teammates, the Thunder, joining LeBron James as the only two players, who got a triple-double against all thirty NBA teams.
The 2019-2020 season was cut short due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Westbrook was unfortunate enough to test positive for the virus but fortunate to get healthy and manage to come back for the season restart. Houston Rockets made the playoffs but lost to the Lakers in 5 games.
Russell Westbrook – Washington Wizards
Russell Westbrook clearly wasn’t a match for the Rockets, the rumour has it, that he was arguing with James Harden. His route with the Wizards was full of glory, as he broke other records. He averaged a triple-double for the fourth time in his career and helped to lead the Washington Wizards to the playoffs.
Russell Westbrook – Los Angeles Lakers
As a veteran guard, Westbrook joined the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2021-22 season. Westbrook’s struggles with his new team were clear from the beginning. Despite encouraging words from his teammate, LeBron. Some of his performances are quite admirable, for example, when he scored 25 points, six rebounds, eight assists and one steal across 31 minutes. Unfortunately, it’s reasonable to think that his first season with the Lakers won’t be full of career highs. Instead, the Internet highlights his lows.
Conclusion
Westbrook is one of the most dangerous modern NBA players thanks to his quickness. Sometimes, his style of play might not match up with other players and his attitude may seem to repel (like that time he screamed at Enes Kanter for speaking with Durant). Individually, he can astonish the public with spectacular dunk or a pull-up jumper. He will do anything to score.
Are LeBron James and Russell Westbrook friends?
Sources suggest that they LeBron James and Russell Westbrook are close friends. Even though it may not seem that way on the court, they like each other in private.
Is Russell Westbrook the most athletic?
Russell Westbrook is sometimes put on the same shelf as Michael Jordan and LeBron James. While he’s certainly not on their level in terms of accomplishments and scoring, he’s a well-rounded player with a lot of tenacity and endurance. He can play the whole game on the same level. And, he’s the second in history to ever have gotten a 20-20-20 game.
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