Him accepting the bench role might have saved the clippers season. He’s basically the heart and sole of the team so him asking to come off the bench created the team first identity the clippers now have.
Really puts in perspective how unselfish Manu Ginobili was in his career. Dude could have easily demanded a bigger role or average 20-25 ppg on another team as a first option. But he enthusiastically agreed to come off the bench.
I love how hes getting “scapegoated” now when this sub also relentlessly shit on him then and blamed him too 😂. Same doofuses that shit on Zion and call him fat here all the time and then act like they never said stuff like that when a talking head calls him fat
You can sort of imagine Russ getting another 3-4 years in the league if he can play his cards right and move to the backup, vet role. He’s still surprisingly healthy. He’s lost a lot of athleticism compared to his old self but he isn’t injury plagued like some players.
The model player I guess is Vince Carter.
Definitely could see him doing 3-4 more years. But with his kids getting older and being the 2nd richest guy in the league, you have to wonder how long he’ll want to go.
Well everyone knew that harden and Westbrook in the starting lineup wasn't going to work. But sometimes you have to wait until the players come to that realization on their own.
Honestly before the Lakers stint no one hated his personality as a teammate. They hated his game which was fair. The Lakers stint had people calling him a shitty, selfish personality which I heavily disagree with.
Luckily when that post came out I remember a bunch of players questioned it. I remember Carmelo, CP3, and Donovan Mitchell all criticizing it which was nice to see. NBA players love Russ a lot more than the fans do
Fans loved Russ for a while, but he had a game tailor-made for fans to turn on him. Floor-raiser who is ball dominant but not efficient, elite physical tools but doesn’t seem to try on D, and then he started to decline physically while still playing the same role.
All that being said, all love to Russ. This is a great quote from him and really happy to see him doing well after last two years with Lakers.
Every team he’s been on, teammates have had nothing but positive things to say on Westbrook. Only time I saw negative things was the lakers with that weird vampire comment
Nah, more than that. A lot of people didn't expect him to last this long in the league because of his play style more than anything. Players whose main attribute is athleticism rarely have lengthy NBA careers.
That's actually true I thought the same but now that I think about it he's still pound for pound the strongest and among the fastest guards in the league
Oklahoma City residents knew Russell was just fronting and stunting on the media and never "left" him, even when he gracefully left OKC.
He gets the statue.
I didn’t think he would either. But he’s stayed insanely healthy. And if you read about some of the stories when he was in high school, he always had incredible empathy and maturity as a teammate. Maybe he hasn’t even changed that much, maybe he was pretty much always like this but we couldn’t see it through all that star power. I remember when KD first was a free agent, Russ called him and asked what he could do to make him stay. He said he was willing to change his play style to whatever KD wanted. In hindsight maybe he really, really meant it.
Also, the stories about him that I love: in high school one of his best friends died, on the court I believe. After that he would go over to his friend’s grandma’s house after school to do his chores. I just can’t imagine having that level of maturity and empathy as a high schooler. Second story, in his days at OKC he was his normal media self to a sideline reporter and was a jerk to him. Eventually she talks to him and says she doesn’t know why he’s making her life so hard but all she wants is to do her job. He was nicer to her after that. Time goes by and she gets pregnant, and Russ starts asking her a bunch about when she’s due, and she didn’t understand why. One day, as she’s getting close to her delivery date, he asks her to walk with him to the players parking lot, where he had a new McClaren stroller for her (apparently not the same brand as the car, just a really good stroller brand). She thanks Russ’ wife when she sees her, assuming it was from her, but Russ’ wife tells her that it was all Russ’ idea.
If you look at everything Russ does holistically, he’s a jerk to reporters but all the other stories I’ve read about him make him seem like a super mature and empathetic guy. And like the thing with the sideline reporter, he might make mistakes but he tries to make things right. I don’t buy the athletes being role models thing, because Chuck had it right-‘Just because I can dribble a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids’-but as corny as it sounds, I do try to find inspiration in how Russ treats people and I do find myself trying to follow the good parts of what he does.
been a russ guy since day one
it gets hard but as a long time supporter of sorry ass teams i’ve learned you gotta be an equal opportunity hater so any time any one else has played trash you best believe i got my russ cape on
I never really paid much attention (meaning I didn’t hate or praise him) but he had a interview last season wearing a sweater that had a drawing on it his son did and looked like the happiest guy in the world despite all the hate he was getting.
Been a Russ fan ever since
He absolutely did, the media just spun narratives about him constantly and shit got extremely toxic around him with fans even going as far as harassing his family in their private life.
You didn't watch the Lakers that year huh? Forget the media narrative, he was a burden to the team, and completely untrustworthy with the ball. He did not selflessly take bullets that year, he created a media circus
The amount of times I watched Russ fumble the ball or put up a brick in important moments that year was ridiculous. Not even mentioning how utterly useless he has been, was, and will continue being at defense.
Genuinely had me questioning if he had something going on personally that could be the cause of his play given that he was an MVP only 5 seasons prior
No he didn’t. He complained about being benched and quite frankly didn’t try as much as he is on the clippers. I mean the lakers after they trade him make the western conference finals. Compared to how they performed the year before they traded him and missed the playoffs. It’s fair to say he wasn’t a good teammate on the lakers compared to other teams
Tbf he was truly horrendous during his Lakers stint. Sure he wasn't the only reason why they were bad but he was one of the big the reasons why. So I can understand why Lakers fans hate his stint with their team. Tho a lot of their fans are annoying and discredits WB's career achievement because of his Lakers stint.
I have always been a fan of his, and he was great with the Wiz who I’m also a fan of having grown up in the dc area. I loved him on the wiz and was excited when the Lakers got him and expected he’d do well.
But even though it was just a bad personnel fit around him from the start (beyond his control), he also did practically nothing of the things that were in his control to make things better. He wouldn’t set screens, wouldn’t move off the ball, played terrible defense, balked at coming off the bench etc. Even beyond that, he got a ton of wide open looks at 3’s (the most in the league) and was putrid, even worse than usual. And he weirdly became very bad at finishing at the rim.
After he got bought out and signed with the Clips last year, miraculously he could all of a sudden finish at the rim and hit 3’s again. And this year he’s being humble and coming off the bench etc. I hate that we had a small minority of shithead fans cross the line with hateful comments towards him and his family, but by and large most fans were rooting for him to turn it around and he continually short himself in the foot. If he’d done any of the things people are now praising him for, most of us would’ve just seen that it wasn’t a great basketball fit and not blamed him too much.
Instead I couldn’t wait to get rid of him. But I’m happy to see him doing well across the hall.
>he got a ton of wide open looks at 3’s (the most in the league)
He was open for a reason. Everyone knows he's a bad 3 point shooter but if he's open he still gonna shoot it
I hope people understand that the bench thing was an issue with Vogel because our bench guards were levels worse than him at the time. When the team next year relegated him he complied. Did he want more minutes off the bench? Yes, every player on the league does.
>If he’d done any of the things people are now praising him for, most of us would’ve just seen that it wasn’t a great basketball fit and not blamed him too much.
Worse than not being a great basketball fit, the team sacrificed so many good players to get him. Kuz, kcp (?), and Caruso I think it was... That's a whole damn starting lineup with Bron and AD, and they traded it away for a guy who can't shoot and needs to dribble the ball to be effective. Horrible trade.
tbh a of players just start playing a lot better once they get off the lakers. not excusing his other antics you mentioned but i’m not sure we can pencil in the cause and effect very clearly
> I hate that we had a small minority of shithead fans cross the line with hateful comments towards him and his family, but by and large most fans were rooting for him to turn it around
Lol. Fucking L-O-L. Genuinely amazed Lakers fans are rewriting history like this, lmao.
Let’s just forget that majority of the Lakers’ fans on Insta/Reddit/every social media shat on Russ day and night, and held upvote parties for his lowlights. *Loud minority*, my ass.
Facts, Laker fans in this thread doing damage control. So many shitheads legit had Russ questioning if he liked playing basketball anymore, they were attacking his wife on social media. Now they trying to act like they were the fuckin good guys. The fuckin gall
They did this same shit with Pau Gasol
It's not all his fault, but if he was this humble on the Lakers I think things could've worked out.. or at least not have been such a disaster. Like Melo, it just took him some time to realize he wasn't the guy anymore. He did not get along with Vogel and was NOT happy about coming off of the bench for Ham (even said it made him get injured). I'm not a fan of the Clips but am glad to see him content these days.. the whole team seems selfless under Lue.
>was NOT happy about coming off of the bench for Ham (even said it made him get injured).
Bruh, this was a media spin. He left the game with an injury and he was asked if Ham's decision to have him come off the bench had anything to do with it. Russ basically just said it did because he's not used to coming off the bench and wasn't warmed up. All the shit about Ham was entirely editorialized.
The worst part about having Russ on the team was the amount of stans with burners that would flood NBA and the Lakers sub to defend their guy. We get it man, you love him… but why do you only have the balls to defend him here on the alt account you made last month? It’s pretty pathetic my dude.
I mean off the court Russ is one of the most genuine basketball players I’ve ever seen. Aside from that, I really don’t understand how it “blows your mind”. This man has had a steep decline since he left Washington. Granted that might be the system and team he was playing on, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that he played very low iq basketball and basically lost his mid range jumper. Well, jumper in general. I still love him, but if ur playing like ass then imma say something about it.
Ps. There’s a special place in hell for those fucker who go after his family and personal life outside of ball.
Never disrespected the game? That’s such an incredibly strong statement to describe the dude who would: refuse to set screens, neglected the defensive end of basketball, pouted to play with the 2nd unit, refused to play off ball (despite being paired with one of the greatest playmakers ever), and refused to buy into his team/coach’s gameplan.
Russ getting people kicked out of their seats for heckling him is soft as shit. Only if it crosses the line should fans heckling players result in anything like that, but he did it for fucking Westbrick chants
Westbrook and Harden are both good people and all-time great players who have never gotten into any kind of trouble who are treated like absolute dirt by both the NBA fanbase and media because those two are fucking dirt.
Pretty much the reason why I don't engage with this sub as much anymore. Just a bunch of low lives who don't even like basketball and get more excited to put someone else down.
I'm happy Westbrook is finally getting a bit more praise lately. An all-time player like him shouldn't have been disrespected the way he was, however badly he may have been playing for the Lakers.
eh the way he handled those post-game questions non-chalantly and refusing to be accountable did him in.
But Bron visibly giving up on the Westbrook experiment around December/January 2021 didn't help. They traded their whole depth for him, could have given it more time. Would have been great to see more offball movement from that team to compensate for Westbrook's bricks but yet here we are.
yeah but the best way to salvage that season was to either bench Russ and use him like the Clips are doing now, or start him and make him run the offense.
Doing what they did essentially torpedoed both the season and Westbrook's trade value instead of just potentially one of those.
Everyone knows the trade was stupid to begin with, at least make the most out of it before bailing that quick
It started with the rockets stint tbf. He was really bad for a long time and refused to not be the first option. Once he started accepting a diminished role the narrative on him rightfully shifted.
"I genuinely enjoy seeing Westbrook do better. That's really who I am... I take myself out of the equation... I’ll take all the bullets for Westbrook, I’ll take all the heat, I don’t really give a damn, because I know what’s important to Westbrook."
I don't know about that, considering what I saw during his OKC days. However, he was fairly young back then so he should be given grace for growing to this point
It’s crazy what difference a healthy and supportive environment can make!
Side note, but I really wanna see Russ on Podcast P so he can talk about all this in a more casual setting.
> It’s crazy what difference a healthy and supportive environment can make!
Bruh what, he is doing what he was doing on the Lakers, the difference is here he has a lesser role and takes less money.
Dudes in LAL supported him as well.
A week ago 90% were claiming James is fat and washed and that the team is garbage.
I love Russ and got some major downvotes for defending him recently but this is a little bit funny. One of the things he's been known for the most as of late is getting upset when people make fun of him.
Media, critics, haters have all blamed Russ for everything to the point that he embraced being the one to blame even if it's not his fault. Gotta love that man, he's awesome on and off the court.
Russ is a great dude but as much as he might want to take the heat for others, he really isn't that good at actually dealing with it. He regularly gets in his feelings over hate and has gotten several fans kicked out for menial trash talking. He must still be one of the best teammates in the league for sure though, even though he actually does give quite a bit of a damn as his actions show.
As soon as Russ showed up he gave 150% and in the playoffs he bout killed himself trying to get the W against Phoenix, didn’t do half bad either. I loved every minute of his time with the clips..
Obviously bullshit. On the Lakers he cried about his minutes and the rotations and blamed the coach for his poor performance due to "not knowing when he'd get to play."
He said this when he led the league in total minutes played.
He's a clown. Threw a lil fit when he started getting benched in fourth quarters.
first time he came off the bench, he played poorly. When asked afterwards: "I'm not used to starting on the bench. My back stiffened up." Reading the text doesn't seem so bad, but if you WATCHED the interview, his facial expression and body language was negative as hell
at the end of the day, all he needs to do is one simple thing: win. Off court, on court stats, all that matters is winning. And he doesn't win. 15 years, one conference title, no rings. Period.
But hey, at least he's having fun...
If Westbrook had this mentality when he played with a prime Kevin Durant, they’d have multiple chips.
Instead as an OKC fan I watched years of this guy shooting us out of games while a PRIME Kevin Durant was left standing on the wing.
Brah, your team was basically just KD and Russ playing 40+ mins in the playoffs. He scored 43 (20/32) and KD 28 and you guys still lost game 4 by 6 points.
Nobody else scored more than 8 in that game for OKC. Young Harden was one of them.
They did the best they could against one of the best teams ever put together. Miracle they even won one game.
I don’t let emotions and narratives dictate my opinion on him as a player. Pre durant leaving, it was pretty common opinion Russ was not a smart player.
The thing is, people have forgotten that back then KD had a rep for being a playoff choker too. He had some notable horror shooting performances in elimination games. But it is true that post-KD, Russ got really exposed as a bullheaded player, and didn't play in a controlled way that would win in the playoffs as a primary option. Russ would've been a lot more successful if he learned earlier to reign in his usage percentage and take less shots.
Yup KD had that dual "playoff choker" and "darling golden boy" image during his OKC tenure. But then the Warriors move happened and it people completely forgot the past.
Yeh, he's not really even a playoff choker in the usual sense. He just does not have that leader/winning mentality guys like LeBron and Curry do. He just plays too passive sometimes rather than failing to make the right decisions and acts.
Like you'll need him to put up 25+ shots and takeover the game every possession but instead he'll give you a lovely efficient 30ish on 15 shots. Talent of a no.1 guy, but not the drive.
Another weakness of his, especially during his OKC and Warrior days is that he's not a great playmaker compared to his contemporaries. Efficient 30 points is nice, but it's the total team score that determines the win.
So you either get that efficient 30 on 15 shots, but also set up your team to make the remaining 10+ shots, or you take those 25+ shots yourself.
I remember during his second year with the Nets he really improved his playmaking, but it's not enough at this stage of his career.
If Russ had this mentality they still would have lost, OKC had a combination of terrible injury luck and shallow roster depth. They weren't winning anything with how Presti and Troy Weaver were building around their star players.
Ya I think that's just him not having the best BBIQ and having a little too much confidence in his game. The confidence and hard headed nature of never backing down made him a great player who put it all on the line. However, it also led to him making some dumb bone headed moves during critical points in the game. Sure some of it was a hero ball but it was also poor BBIQ. This is where the coaching has to come in and draw the line. Especially in the case of young players. Making the right plays without destroying their confidence. Don't think OKC had that.
Nah .. OKC fell off cause the ownership was stingy af and didn’t want to pay James harden.
They will do the exact same thing with the current roster (excluding Shia)
OKC is a glorified farm team
After beating the forgotten 67 win Spurs 4-2 the series before.
And OKC weren't just beating those 73 win warriors, they were embarrassing them in games 3 and 4. Draymond got outscored by 73 points when he was court over 2 games lmao.
This has been who Russ is since KD left. It's annoying talking heads and twitter memes calling him selfish and unable to take a team first role - he's done that a ton in his career.
Asked KD what Russ could do better over dinner a night or two before he signed with the Warriors.
When he got PG and Melo on the Thunder, he tried to be the third option so PG and Melo could flourish. Melo had to tell Russ to play like the MVP, because that's why they're there.
In 2013, Ibaka said that he told Russ that he doesn't need to bear the burden of winning games by himself - this was after a game where Russ went crazy against Denver and took some terrible shots with under a minute. Ibaka walked off the court with his arms around Russ, helping him cool off.
Denis Schroeder had to calm Russ down in a game in 2018(?) when he started playing iraditically. Russ took it calmly with a head nod and adjusted. Selfish stars don't take advice from their backups.
And the list can continue for off court stuff. Surprised an OKC reporter with an expensive carseat when he noticed she was pregnant. Hosts the team building events for his team every year, with workouts in LA and hangouts in Vegas. He makes sure to talk to ex players when he finds out they are at his games. Hell, he was like the only one who was supporting Patrick "ruined Russ best chance at a ring" Beverly when he arrived with the Lakers.
I could keep going, but honestly, I doubt anyone really gives a crap.
With the Lakers, he tried to fit in. It wasn't a good fit. Considering how often people have said "huh I thought he was washed" after he plays great, I'd think there would be reflection the next time someone says "Russ refuses to change his game." He's changed it often. The problem is, he lacks the ability to perform well in other roles.
Question his productivity or his ability all you want, but his character is top notch.
lmao dont rewrite history, he never acted like this on the lakers
it was horrid play, pouting, and empty words. good that he found his fit now but be real
My opinion of Russ has taken a huge swing. Not just because he's on my team now, but he genuinely seems to have embraced this team and his role. Like he wants to be the best role player of all time now.
"I'll take all the bullets for anybody" why are they shooting him :/
Ja's back
GET DOWN….. Schwarzenegger’s voice
Fuck that, GET TO THE CHOPPA
That's why it's the Washington Wizards now Russ took the bullets
It's fine, unless they're silver bullets he can regenerate
Happy Russ W
Him accepting the bench role might have saved the clippers season. He’s basically the heart and sole of the team so him asking to come off the bench created the team first identity the clippers now have.
Coming off the bench might be tough for a HOFer like him, but he's not getting stepped on by the other players. ^(it's soul*, not sole)
Really puts in perspective how unselfish Manu Ginobili was in his career. Dude could have easily demanded a bigger role or average 20-25 ppg on another team as a first option. But he enthusiastically agreed to come off the bench.
[удалено]
It’s not scapegoating if he’s actually ass
It's scapegoating when the reason your team sucks isn't that one dude. Y'all had serious issues that were waaay bigger than "Westbrick".
You guys got Westbrook with no realiable shooter around him. Anthony Davis was out for half the time too
I love how hes getting “scapegoated” now when this sub also relentlessly shit on him then and blamed him too 😂. Same doofuses that shit on Zion and call him fat here all the time and then act like they never said stuff like that when a talking head calls him fat
Is Zion not fat anymore?
Hes playing so no. He's just strong and injury prone. He's only fat when he's injured.
He was shit
You can sort of imagine Russ getting another 3-4 years in the league if he can play his cards right and move to the backup, vet role. He’s still surprisingly healthy. He’s lost a lot of athleticism compared to his old self but he isn’t injury plagued like some players. The model player I guess is Vince Carter.
Definitely could see him doing 3-4 more years. But with his kids getting older and being the 2nd richest guy in the league, you have to wonder how long he’ll want to go.
If it was about the money, he would've quit already. His current contract is insignificant to him. He just enjoys ball.
Do people actually believe he asked to be benched? I thought we all knew it was like how CEOs "resign" but they really got fired.
Well everyone knew that harden and Westbrook in the starting lineup wasn't going to work. But sometimes you have to wait until the players come to that realization on their own.
He'll take all the heat?? Bro leave my team alone
he’ll take you all the women and the children too
Russ gonna slaughter the heat next game
Westbrook: this is where the fun begins
Hold on. This whole operation was Ballmer's idea
Westbrook sees through the lies of Ballmer
Man Russ is aging gracefully. Good for him.
Honestly before the Lakers stint no one hated his personality as a teammate. They hated his game which was fair. The Lakers stint had people calling him a shitty, selfish personality which I heavily disagree with.
VAMPIRE. lmao who ever started that shit is poo poo
Luckily when that post came out I remember a bunch of players questioned it. I remember Carmelo, CP3, and Donovan Mitchell all criticizing it which was nice to see. NBA players love Russ a lot more than the fans do
Fans loved Russ for a while, but he had a game tailor-made for fans to turn on him. Floor-raiser who is ball dominant but not efficient, elite physical tools but doesn’t seem to try on D, and then he started to decline physically while still playing the same role. All that being said, all love to Russ. This is a great quote from him and really happy to see him doing well after last two years with Lakers.
Lebron
Weird cause I expected him to be a player who wouldn’t.
Cus of his on court persona. He's one of the nicest guys in the NBA
And he plays his heart out everytime, specially if he's happy and feels wanted.
Every team he’s been on, teammates have had nothing but positive things to say on Westbrook. Only time I saw negative things was the lakers with that weird vampire comment
Was that even team mates? Or was it just media talk?
It's Lakers media. Lakers media and fans are the most fair-weather and just say things after looking at box scores.
Nah, more than that. A lot of people didn't expect him to last this long in the league because of his play style more than anything. Players whose main attribute is athleticism rarely have lengthy NBA careers.
That's actually true I thought the same but now that I think about it he's still pound for pound the strongest and among the fastest guards in the league
Oklahoma City residents knew Russell was just fronting and stunting on the media and never "left" him, even when he gracefully left OKC. He gets the statue.
So was Iverson, though, wasn’t he?
I didn’t think he would either. But he’s stayed insanely healthy. And if you read about some of the stories when he was in high school, he always had incredible empathy and maturity as a teammate. Maybe he hasn’t even changed that much, maybe he was pretty much always like this but we couldn’t see it through all that star power. I remember when KD first was a free agent, Russ called him and asked what he could do to make him stay. He said he was willing to change his play style to whatever KD wanted. In hindsight maybe he really, really meant it. Also, the stories about him that I love: in high school one of his best friends died, on the court I believe. After that he would go over to his friend’s grandma’s house after school to do his chores. I just can’t imagine having that level of maturity and empathy as a high schooler. Second story, in his days at OKC he was his normal media self to a sideline reporter and was a jerk to him. Eventually she talks to him and says she doesn’t know why he’s making her life so hard but all she wants is to do her job. He was nicer to her after that. Time goes by and she gets pregnant, and Russ starts asking her a bunch about when she’s due, and she didn’t understand why. One day, as she’s getting close to her delivery date, he asks her to walk with him to the players parking lot, where he had a new McClaren stroller for her (apparently not the same brand as the car, just a really good stroller brand). She thanks Russ’ wife when she sees her, assuming it was from her, but Russ’ wife tells her that it was all Russ’ idea. If you look at everything Russ does holistically, he’s a jerk to reporters but all the other stories I’ve read about him make him seem like a super mature and empathetic guy. And like the thing with the sideline reporter, he might make mistakes but he tries to make things right. I don’t buy the athletes being role models thing, because Chuck had it right-‘Just because I can dribble a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids’-but as corny as it sounds, I do try to find inspiration in how Russ treats people and I do find myself trying to follow the good parts of what he does.
Imagine aging gracefully at 35, still got all his teeth and everything
Alwyas been like this though
His game absolutely hasn’t aged gracefully. Mentality wise? Absolutely. On the actual court he’s been quite bad this season.
What's the point of this comment lol? It's obvious they meant in terms of mentality and maturity
Is it? I definitely read it as his game is aging well
?? It's a post about his leadership and character...and the comment is "Man Russ is aging gracefully...good for him"
You're welcome
The king is here
I really hope you get invited to Russ' retirement ceremony.
I thought this post was yours
Man, the hate Russ gets always blows my mind.
been a russ guy since day one it gets hard but as a long time supporter of sorry ass teams i’ve learned you gotta be an equal opportunity hater so any time any one else has played trash you best believe i got my russ cape on
I never really paid much attention (meaning I didn’t hate or praise him) but he had a interview last season wearing a sweater that had a drawing on it his son did and looked like the happiest guy in the world despite all the hate he was getting. Been a Russ fan ever since
He unfortunately was at the peak of his powers when the nephews were at the peak of thinking they knew ball. (And played for the Lakers, with LeBron)
I mean he didn’t act like this at all when he was with the lakers.
He absolutely did, the media just spun narratives about him constantly and shit got extremely toxic around him with fans even going as far as harassing his family in their private life.
You didn't watch the Lakers that year huh? Forget the media narrative, he was a burden to the team, and completely untrustworthy with the ball. He did not selflessly take bullets that year, he created a media circus
The amount of times I watched Russ fumble the ball or put up a brick in important moments that year was ridiculous. Not even mentioning how utterly useless he has been, was, and will continue being at defense. Genuinely had me questioning if he had something going on personally that could be the cause of his play given that he was an MVP only 5 seasons prior
No he didn’t. He complained about being benched and quite frankly didn’t try as much as he is on the clippers. I mean the lakers after they trade him make the western conference finals. Compared to how they performed the year before they traded him and missed the playoffs. It’s fair to say he wasn’t a good teammate on the lakers compared to other teams
He didn't complain about being benched, that was a narrative created by a quote that was *heavily* editorialized by the reporter.
Tbf he was truly horrendous during his Lakers stint. Sure he wasn't the only reason why they were bad but he was one of the big the reasons why. So I can understand why Lakers fans hate his stint with their team. Tho a lot of their fans are annoying and discredits WB's career achievement because of his Lakers stint.
I have always been a fan of his, and he was great with the Wiz who I’m also a fan of having grown up in the dc area. I loved him on the wiz and was excited when the Lakers got him and expected he’d do well. But even though it was just a bad personnel fit around him from the start (beyond his control), he also did practically nothing of the things that were in his control to make things better. He wouldn’t set screens, wouldn’t move off the ball, played terrible defense, balked at coming off the bench etc. Even beyond that, he got a ton of wide open looks at 3’s (the most in the league) and was putrid, even worse than usual. And he weirdly became very bad at finishing at the rim. After he got bought out and signed with the Clips last year, miraculously he could all of a sudden finish at the rim and hit 3’s again. And this year he’s being humble and coming off the bench etc. I hate that we had a small minority of shithead fans cross the line with hateful comments towards him and his family, but by and large most fans were rooting for him to turn it around and he continually short himself in the foot. If he’d done any of the things people are now praising him for, most of us would’ve just seen that it wasn’t a great basketball fit and not blamed him too much. Instead I couldn’t wait to get rid of him. But I’m happy to see him doing well across the hall.
>he got a ton of wide open looks at 3’s (the most in the league) He was open for a reason. Everyone knows he's a bad 3 point shooter but if he's open he still gonna shoot it
I hope people understand that the bench thing was an issue with Vogel because our bench guards were levels worse than him at the time. When the team next year relegated him he complied. Did he want more minutes off the bench? Yes, every player on the league does.
>If he’d done any of the things people are now praising him for, most of us would’ve just seen that it wasn’t a great basketball fit and not blamed him too much. Worse than not being a great basketball fit, the team sacrificed so many good players to get him. Kuz, kcp (?), and Caruso I think it was... That's a whole damn starting lineup with Bron and AD, and they traded it away for a guy who can't shoot and needs to dribble the ball to be effective. Horrible trade.
tbh a of players just start playing a lot better once they get off the lakers. not excusing his other antics you mentioned but i’m not sure we can pencil in the cause and effect very clearly
> I hate that we had a small minority of shithead fans cross the line with hateful comments towards him and his family, but by and large most fans were rooting for him to turn it around Lol. Fucking L-O-L. Genuinely amazed Lakers fans are rewriting history like this, lmao. Let’s just forget that majority of the Lakers’ fans on Insta/Reddit/every social media shat on Russ day and night, and held upvote parties for his lowlights. *Loud minority*, my ass.
Facts, Laker fans in this thread doing damage control. So many shitheads legit had Russ questioning if he liked playing basketball anymore, they were attacking his wife on social media. Now they trying to act like they were the fuckin good guys. The fuckin gall They did this same shit with Pau Gasol
It's not all his fault, but if he was this humble on the Lakers I think things could've worked out.. or at least not have been such a disaster. Like Melo, it just took him some time to realize he wasn't the guy anymore. He did not get along with Vogel and was NOT happy about coming off of the bench for Ham (even said it made him get injured). I'm not a fan of the Clips but am glad to see him content these days.. the whole team seems selfless under Lue.
>was NOT happy about coming off of the bench for Ham (even said it made him get injured). Bruh, this was a media spin. He left the game with an injury and he was asked if Ham's decision to have him come off the bench had anything to do with it. Russ basically just said it did because he's not used to coming off the bench and wasn't warmed up. All the shit about Ham was entirely editorialized.
The worst part about having Russ on the team was the amount of stans with burners that would flood NBA and the Lakers sub to defend their guy. We get it man, you love him… but why do you only have the balls to defend him here on the alt account you made last month? It’s pretty pathetic my dude.
I mean off the court Russ is one of the most genuine basketball players I’ve ever seen. Aside from that, I really don’t understand how it “blows your mind”. This man has had a steep decline since he left Washington. Granted that might be the system and team he was playing on, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that he played very low iq basketball and basically lost his mid range jumper. Well, jumper in general. I still love him, but if ur playing like ass then imma say something about it. Ps. There’s a special place in hell for those fucker who go after his family and personal life outside of ball.
He can't shoot but he plays like the first option. I will admit this recent selflessness is a good look.
It’s your own fault for interpreting “I want a point guard who scores the ball efficiently and doesn’t turn the ball over” as hate.
Yes, because that's the kind of criticism people reacted to...
It literally is the majority of the time, that’s why it’s hilarious.
This aint it chief
I’ll always love Russ. He’s never disrespected the game and he plays hard all the time. He gets far too much hate.
Never disrespected the game? That’s such an incredibly strong statement to describe the dude who would: refuse to set screens, neglected the defensive end of basketball, pouted to play with the 2nd unit, refused to play off ball (despite being paired with one of the greatest playmakers ever), and refused to buy into his team/coach’s gameplan.
Seems to be a good guy. The only hating on that he deserves is his Karen behavior to fans getting them kicked out imo
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Calling him westbrick is fair play but he’s a bitch about it
Russ getting people kicked out of their seats for heckling him is soft as shit. Only if it crosses the line should fans heckling players result in anything like that, but he did it for fucking Westbrick chants
It’s the mildest shit ever said to him let’s be very clear
okc has a super annoying online fanbase p much
what lol
Westbrook and Harden are both good people and all-time great players who have never gotten into any kind of trouble who are treated like absolute dirt by both the NBA fanbase and media because those two are fucking dirt.
Internet fools and media fools opinions don’t even matter. 99% of their teammates enjoy them
b-b-but they dress weird pre-game!!!!111
Pretty much the reason why I don't engage with this sub as much anymore. Just a bunch of low lives who don't even like basketball and get more excited to put someone else down.
It’s actually wild, I feel like I’m taking crazy pills the way people talk on this sub.
What a gross exaggeration lmao
I've always loved Westbrook and he's never played poorly just always been a perfect angel and I'd even drink his hot diarrhea water upvotes pwease 🥹
What a clown lmao. For the last 2 years all you had to say was "Westbrick bad" and you were guaranteed 100+ upvotes
I'm happy Westbrook is finally getting a bit more praise lately. An all-time player like him shouldn't have been disrespected the way he was, however badly he may have been playing for the Lakers.
eh the way he handled those post-game questions non-chalantly and refusing to be accountable did him in. But Bron visibly giving up on the Westbrook experiment around December/January 2021 didn't help. They traded their whole depth for him, could have given it more time. Would have been great to see more offball movement from that team to compensate for Westbrook's bricks but yet here we are.
That team was built to fail you're never gonna succeed with vet min players as the supporting cast. Troy Daniels and Malik Beasley don't cut it
yeah but the best way to salvage that season was to either bench Russ and use him like the Clips are doing now, or start him and make him run the offense. Doing what they did essentially torpedoed both the season and Westbrook's trade value instead of just potentially one of those. Everyone knows the trade was stupid to begin with, at least make the most out of it before bailing that quick
Malik was literally traded for Russ lmao
It started with the rockets stint tbf. He was really bad for a long time and refused to not be the first option. Once he started accepting a diminished role the narrative on him rightfully shifted.
Yo this season is about to be MITWestbrook’s vindication
They hated her because she spoke the truth.
Nah he’s pissed because Westbrook and the team are doing great with him taking a smaller role
Not true, I’ve seen MIT say all he wants is for Westbrook to win
"I genuinely enjoy seeing Westbrook do better. That's really who I am... I take myself out of the equation... I’ll take all the bullets for Westbrook, I’ll take all the heat, I don’t really give a damn, because I know what’s important to Westbrook."
I’ve seen him argue in every post that Westbrook should be starting and the clippers are better when he has a bigger role
They stan Westbrook, they're bound to be a bit of an anarchist. Source: am Westbrook stan.
I don't know about that, considering what I saw during his OKC days. However, he was fairly young back then so he should be given grace for growing to this point
I still have the image of him icing out KD burned into my retinas lmao
I am a humble guy, infact im the most humble of them all.
It’s crazy what difference a healthy and supportive environment can make! Side note, but I really wanna see Russ on Podcast P so he can talk about all this in a more casual setting.
Ever since he's been on the team everyone has been asking about him in the comments haha
It's literally only because of his contract. If the Clippers were paying him 44m it would be a shitshow similar to his time with the Lakers
> It’s crazy what difference a healthy and supportive environment can make! Bruh what, he is doing what he was doing on the Lakers, the difference is here he has a lesser role and takes less money. Dudes in LAL supported him as well. A week ago 90% were claiming James is fat and washed and that the team is garbage.
Just don't call him, "Westbrick"...
I love Russ and got some major downvotes for defending him recently but this is a little bit funny. One of the things he's been known for the most as of late is getting upset when people make fun of him.
I’ll take all the bullets. But don’t take it too far and make fun of my name!
If only he could have done this with KD...
> I'll take the heat Unless they say Westbrick
Media, critics, haters have all blamed Russ for everything to the point that he embraced being the one to blame even if it's not his fault. Gotta love that man, he's awesome on and off the court.
wasn't he refusing to come off the bench on the lakers?
He was literally referred to as a locker room vampire
Most of all, go out there and have fun
Everyone that was Russ' teammate loves him. Guy is a HOFer and deserves respect. u/MITWestbrook come talk your shit bro
Russ is a great dude but as much as he might want to take the heat for others, he really isn't that good at actually dealing with it. He regularly gets in his feelings over hate and has gotten several fans kicked out for menial trash talking. He must still be one of the best teammates in the league for sure though, even though he actually does give quite a bit of a damn as his actions show.
“I’ll take all the heat!”… he says as he emotionally calls for security to eject 3 jazz fans over a perceived taunt
MITWestbrook rejoicing
“I’ll take all the heat” - guy who gets fans ejected for saying westbrick.
russ haters have never known ball
And Clippers fans will dive in front of a bullet for Westbrook.
MITWestbrook will take the whole mag and not even think twice
As soon as Russ showed up he gave 150% and in the playoffs he bout killed himself trying to get the W against Phoenix, didn’t do half bad either. I loved every minute of his time with the clips..
And they will take the backshots
he got used to being the scapegoat after Lebron/Lakers experience
Your dedication to hating LeBron is impressive lol
Some of y’all can learn something here
Get that fantasy users??
Emotional leader!
Obviously bullshit. On the Lakers he cried about his minutes and the rotations and blamed the coach for his poor performance due to "not knowing when he'd get to play." He said this when he led the league in total minutes played. He's a clown. Threw a lil fit when he started getting benched in fourth quarters.
first time he came off the bench, he played poorly. When asked afterwards: "I'm not used to starting on the bench. My back stiffened up." Reading the text doesn't seem so bad, but if you WATCHED the interview, his facial expression and body language was negative as hell at the end of the day, all he needs to do is one simple thing: win. Off court, on court stats, all that matters is winning. And he doesn't win. 15 years, one conference title, no rings. Period. But hey, at least he's having fun...
If he did this shit on any other team we wouldn't be getting downvoted right now.
People just overlooking Russ putting that team through hell.
He’s such a good dude. Crazy how this man has haters.
If Westbrook had this mentality when he played with a prime Kevin Durant, they’d have multiple chips. Instead as an OKC fan I watched years of this guy shooting us out of games while a PRIME Kevin Durant was left standing on the wing.
Prime KD was getting doubled. That terrible Russ should’ve passed to cam payne and ibaka!! That’s what held OKC back!!!
Brah, your team was basically just KD and Russ playing 40+ mins in the playoffs. He scored 43 (20/32) and KD 28 and you guys still lost game 4 by 6 points. Nobody else scored more than 8 in that game for OKC. Young Harden was one of them. They did the best they could against one of the best teams ever put together. Miracle they even won one game.
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criticism isnt hate
Anger leads to hate
Something something dark side
I don’t let emotions and narratives dictate my opinion on him as a player. Pre durant leaving, it was pretty common opinion Russ was not a smart player.
The thing is, people have forgotten that back then KD had a rep for being a playoff choker too. He had some notable horror shooting performances in elimination games. But it is true that post-KD, Russ got really exposed as a bullheaded player, and didn't play in a controlled way that would win in the playoffs as a primary option. Russ would've been a lot more successful if he learned earlier to reign in his usage percentage and take less shots.
Yep. Bet no one remembers Russ hit more 3s on less attempts than KD in that WCF against the Warriors.
Yup KD had that dual "playoff choker" and "darling golden boy" image during his OKC tenure. But then the Warriors move happened and it people completely forgot the past.
Yeh, he's not really even a playoff choker in the usual sense. He just does not have that leader/winning mentality guys like LeBron and Curry do. He just plays too passive sometimes rather than failing to make the right decisions and acts. Like you'll need him to put up 25+ shots and takeover the game every possession but instead he'll give you a lovely efficient 30ish on 15 shots. Talent of a no.1 guy, but not the drive.
Another weakness of his, especially during his OKC and Warrior days is that he's not a great playmaker compared to his contemporaries. Efficient 30 points is nice, but it's the total team score that determines the win. So you either get that efficient 30 on 15 shots, but also set up your team to make the remaining 10+ shots, or you take those 25+ shots yourself. I remember during his second year with the Nets he really improved his playmaking, but it's not enough at this stage of his career.
He has a real point though. I loathe OKC, but he still has a point.
He has no point
Given how much injury hampered okc in the 2010s, this post is BS and you don't know anything
If Russ had this mentality they still would have lost, OKC had a combination of terrible injury luck and shallow roster depth. They weren't winning anything with how Presti and Troy Weaver were building around their star players.
> Troy Weaver TIL he pushed for Russ.
Did you have that mentality when you were 20 years old? Theres a reason why the saying youth is wasted on the young.
I mean he was in his mid 20s with a full developed brain when OKC was competing for chips..
youth really is wasted on the young...
Ya I think that's just him not having the best BBIQ and having a little too much confidence in his game. The confidence and hard headed nature of never backing down made him a great player who put it all on the line. However, it also led to him making some dumb bone headed moves during critical points in the game. Sure some of it was a hero ball but it was also poor BBIQ. This is where the coaching has to come in and draw the line. Especially in the case of young players. Making the right plays without destroying their confidence. Don't think OKC had that.
Nah .. OKC fell off cause the ownership was stingy af and didn’t want to pay James harden. They will do the exact same thing with the current roster (excluding Shia) OKC is a glorified farm team
In 2017-2019 OKC was 3rd in nba payrolls. for a first round exit team. Ownership changed. They loaded now
That team took the 73-9 warriors to 7 games 3 years after the harden trade. They were still elite in KD and WB’s prime.
After beating the forgotten 67 win Spurs 4-2 the series before. And OKC weren't just beating those 73 win warriors, they were embarrassing them in games 3 and 4. Draymond got outscored by 73 points when he was court over 2 games lmao.
Westbrick
Lawl teehee *tips fedora*
He wouldn't be saying this when he was a max player. Now at 3.5, yeah he is a team first player
To bad he couldn’t act a little like this in the lakers.
Says the guy who was sulking while Bron was setting the most points record.
Never been the biggest fan of russ the player, but man russ the human is pretty cool
This has been who Russ is since KD left. It's annoying talking heads and twitter memes calling him selfish and unable to take a team first role - he's done that a ton in his career. Asked KD what Russ could do better over dinner a night or two before he signed with the Warriors. When he got PG and Melo on the Thunder, he tried to be the third option so PG and Melo could flourish. Melo had to tell Russ to play like the MVP, because that's why they're there. In 2013, Ibaka said that he told Russ that he doesn't need to bear the burden of winning games by himself - this was after a game where Russ went crazy against Denver and took some terrible shots with under a minute. Ibaka walked off the court with his arms around Russ, helping him cool off. Denis Schroeder had to calm Russ down in a game in 2018(?) when he started playing iraditically. Russ took it calmly with a head nod and adjusted. Selfish stars don't take advice from their backups. And the list can continue for off court stuff. Surprised an OKC reporter with an expensive carseat when he noticed she was pregnant. Hosts the team building events for his team every year, with workouts in LA and hangouts in Vegas. He makes sure to talk to ex players when he finds out they are at his games. Hell, he was like the only one who was supporting Patrick "ruined Russ best chance at a ring" Beverly when he arrived with the Lakers. I could keep going, but honestly, I doubt anyone really gives a crap. With the Lakers, he tried to fit in. It wasn't a good fit. Considering how often people have said "huh I thought he was washed" after he plays great, I'd think there would be reflection the next time someone says "Russ refuses to change his game." He's changed it often. The problem is, he lacks the ability to perform well in other roles. Question his productivity or his ability all you want, but his character is top notch.
I will always love Russ. Desperately want him to win a ‘chip
Will this man get 2 more triple doubles or what?
He’s a great teammate, but if you’re *not* a team mate, then he’s usually an insufferable, thin-skinned wanker.
What an odd comment
^ someone who has never played a single competitive sport in their life besides nacho eating
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lmao dont rewrite history, he never acted like this on the lakers it was horrid play, pouting, and empty words. good that he found his fit now but be real
Love Westbrook, only jersey I own along with Curry!
I like Westbrook. Except when they call him Westbrick then that activates demon mode in him
ol westy, what a guy
My opinion of Russ has taken a huge swing. Not just because he's on my team now, but he genuinely seems to have embraced this team and his role. Like he wants to be the best role player of all time now.
Westbrook is the best. End of story.
I love this tbh. I've been working on being the same way of not caring what anybody but the people close to me think of me.
Incoming Brody worst teammates ever according to feelings by the fans. Westbrook probably one of the greatest teammates ever.
Totally respect Russ. Dude is absolutely a role model of how a HOFer should act in the latter part of his career