Russell Westbrook's career deserves more praise than ire

USA Today

16 hours ago

Russell Westbrook's career deserves more praise than ire
Another NBA offseason, another Russell Westbrook decision coming up. It's felt like ever since the Oklahoma City Thunder traded him away, Westbrook has been on the move, bouncing from one team to another in hopes of winning a championship.
He'll bounce again this summer after reportedly declining his player option with the Denver Nuggets. Westbrook will find himself on the free agent market yet again. There's also a real possibility that we might make it to the end of this offseason and Russ might still be a free agent, despite having a few bright moments with the Nuggets this season.
Regardless of what Westbrook's future in the NBA might be, I thought it'd be nice to take a bit of time here to heap a bit of praise and appreciation his way.
Let's be honest — the last few years of Westbrook's career haven't been the greatest reflection on him. Things haven't ended on a positive note with his last three teams. The Lakers banished him to Utah before the Clippers saved him. LAC picked him up and signed him to a long-term deal before, once again, deciding to banish him to Utah after a disastrous playoff run. Now, here we are, and before the Nuggets could banish him to Utah again, Westbrook decided to opt out and go elsewhere.
We don't know where "elsewhere" will be at this point. There's a real chance that "elsewhere" doesn't actually exist this time — teams might just decide not to touch him. If that were to be the case, it'd be heartbreaking to see a legend like Russ go out like this.
But make no mistake about it: Regardless how Westbrook's career might end, he'll leave the NBA in a much better place than it was when he first entered it.
Westbrook is one of the best point guards we've ever seen. For his career, he's averaged 21.2 points, 8.0 assists and 7.0 rebounds per game. The only other players to pull that off are Oscar Robertson and Luka Doncic, per Stat Muse, and Doncic obviously hasn't played nearly as long as the other two players on that list.
Westbrook is also the NBA's triple-double king. His 203 are the most in the league's history by a wide margin. Nikola Jokic — another future Hall of Famer — will likely catch him eventually. But, even if that happens, there's nearly a foot of difference between Jokic and Westbrook. The accomplishment of having over 200 triple-doubles can't be overlooked.
The story of Russell Westbrook cannot be told without talking about his playoff failures. After going to the NBA Finals in 2012 with Kevin Durant and James Harden, Westbrook never returned. Once Durant left the Thunder, he'd never gone back to another Western Conference Finals. He could never quite lead his own team to the promised land. And, once his powers began to fade, he never could quite fit perfectly into a bit role that his teams needed him to.
But that's all part of the Russell Westbrook experience, man. The dude plays one way, for better or worse. Lately, it's been for the worse. But that doesn't erase the accomplishments he's stacked playing his way to this point. He's one of the few players in league history to win an MVP. You can't discount that.
Say what you want about Westbrook. Bring up all of his flaws. But, once you're done with all that, make sure you call him a future first-ballot Hall of Famer. Because that's exactly what he is.
On the move again
We all knew Kevin Durant was getting traded, but I didn't expect things to materialize this quickly. The NBA season isn't even over yet and it sounds like the Suns are moving Durant next week.
Here's Bryan Kalbrosky with more:
"While some speculated that Durant could get moved during the 2025 NBA Draft, it appears that a transaction could potentially come even earlier than that. Just ask ESPN's Shams Charania, who appeared on The Pat McAfee Show before Game 4 of the NBA Finals."
The Timberwolves, Heat and Rockets seem to be the main KD suitors at this point, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. Talking heads around NBA media are already putting together speculative trade packages for this.
If I'm being honest, I don't think any of this is a good look. It's already bad enough that the league didn't go out of its way to make the NBA Finals feel like the grandest stage of the NBA's season. Now, we've trade talk about a player who didn't even play for a playoff team this season overshadowing a pivotal Game 4 on Friday night. That's not a good look and something the NBA should think about nipping in the bud.
Shootaround
— The Knicks' coaching denials have drastically shifted the odds for who they might hire. Prince Grimes has details.
— Robert Zeglinski is worried that the Nuggets' weird GM search might ruin the team's offseason.
— Speaking of the Knicks' denials, this is a pretty long list. Maybe go find a coach who doesn't already have a job?
— Here's Bryan Kalbrosky with a composite mock draft with expert picks from around the internet.
That's a wrap, folks. Thanks for reading. Peace.
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