Russell Westbrook rejects his comparisons to Allen Iverson. The two former MVPs are some of the best talents to grace the NBA hardwood.
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When it comes to hustle and competitive drive to be the best, there is no one like Russell Westbrook. The two-time scoring champion is one of the most athletic point guards the NBA has ever seen. The Lakers superstar has averaged a triple-double in the last three of his four seasons.
Though his resume speaks for itself, a championship remains the missing piece on it. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin recently quoted an eastern conference executive who compared Westbrook to Sixers legend Allen Iverson. The two former scoring champions shared a common approach towards the game.
“Russ reminds me of Allen Iverson, wanting to win but wanting to win on his terms,” one eastern conference executive told ESPN. “If he can take a step back and win in LA, it will validate everything else he’s done in the league.”
Via: ESPN
However, Westbrook was quick to brush aside all the comparisons. The former OKC superstar was all praise for the Answer. However, Westbrook believes he is a one-of-a-kind player.
Russell Westbrook brushes aside comparisons to Allen Iverson.
Westbrook is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer, while AI is already in the Hall of Fame. The two-point guards share some of the best individual accolades a superstar can achieve. Some of these achievements include league MVP, scoring titles, multiple All-Star selections, and All-NBA First Team.
One thing that is missing from their individual Hall of Fame resumes is a championship ring. While Iverson is retired, Westbrook is the closest that he has been to win a championship. Brodie is teammates with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Recently, the Lakers point guard addressed his comparisons with the Answer. Westbrook was in no way in agreement with this notion.
“I disagree for multiple reasons,” Westbrook told ESPN. “No. 1, I believe that I am a one-of-a-kind player, and I respect Allen and respect everything he’s done for the game, but I’m not comparable to Allen Iverson by any means. No. 2, is that I’ve been probably — I feel, myself — always trying to fit in to do the best for the betterment of the team. And I’ve always done that in my career, and I’ll continue to do that and whatever happens, happens. If we win a championship, cool. If we don’t, I’m OK with that too and life goes on.”
Though the two superstars shared a lot of individual accolades, their way of playing the game was different. Westbrook has averaged a triple-double in the last three of his four seasons. During his career, Brodie has played with the likes of Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Paul George.
On the other hand, though Iverson didn’t put up stats like Westbrook, he single-handedly carried his team to the 2001 NBA Finals.
The current season is Westbrook’s best chance to win a championship playing for one of the most reputed franchises with King James as his teammate.
