Basketball

“I didn’t think about getting Michael Jordan to autograph my ball”: Russell Westbrook’s wholesome story of how he missed out on a collectible worth millions

Tonoy Sengupta
|PublishedMar 19, 2021

"I didn't think about getting Michael Jordan to autograph my ball": Russell Westbrook's wholesome story of how he missed out on a collectible worth millions

Russell Westbrook reveals that he once willingly turned down the opportunity to get Michael Jordan to autograph his ball as a kid.

Russell Westbrook may get a lot of flak at times, but to call his career a disappointing one would just be incorrect. An MVP, a 9-time All-Star, and 9-time All-NBA player, he has been one of the best in the league for a while now.

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Westbrook has stayed with Jordan for his sneakers for quite a few years and even has a signature line with them. Like many before him, he has even admitted that part of the reason he signed with the brand is due to his love for Michael Jordan, who is the owner of the brand.

But it seems the former player just didn’t matter enough to Russell Westbrook to leave a pickup game.

Russell Westbrook talks about when he chose not to get his ball autographed by Michael Jordan

Russell Westbrook has always loved the game of basketball. But apparently, in his younger years, the love surpassed even the desire to meet and greet THE Michael Jordan. Speaking to Jimmy Fallon, this is what he had to say about the incident.

“When my team was up to get a basketball signed, my parents gave me a basketball to get signed…I don’t know why I was thinking. But when it was my team’s, my time to go, I was in the middle of a game. I was already playing, I was playing pickup… with other kids.”

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He continued saying his coach urging him to get his ball autographed by the legend and get his picture. But to tell the audience what was going through his mind at the time, Westbrook simply said.

“At the time, it ain’t click to me”.

Russell Westbrook of course went on to have an amazing career and is currently worth approximately $170 Million. However, the estimated value of a basketball autographed by Michael Jordan at the time balloons to an incredible $750 Million.

Massive opportunity missed Russ!

About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta is a Senior Editor at The SportsRush. Coming from an athletically inclined family, he has been surrounded by sports ever since he was 4 years old. But, while initially pouring all his time into Football (soccer), at 14, Tonoy discovered basketball through the countless highlights of Stephen Curry humiliating players from Curry Land. And just like that, a fiery passion for the game was ignited within Tonoy. And soon after, he decided to become a student of journalism, graduating in 2022, and choosing sports as his area of interest. Today, you can find him spending 99% of his time browsing through every type of content on every team in the NBA, before uncorking everything he has found to the world. In the 1% he isn't doing this, you can find him playing Basketball, Football, Volleyball, or practically any other sport he has had the opportunity to learn.