After a tumultuous run with the Los Angeles Lakers, Russell Westbrook is enjoying life again on the court with the Los Angeles Clippers. The veteran guard has played a critical role in helping his team climb to third in the Western Conference table while his former team languishes in ninth place.
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Westbrook was heavily criticized during his time with the Lakers. However, retired NBA star Kendall Gill predicted in 2022 that things wouldn’t work out in purple and gold for the former NBA MVP due to LeBron James. In an interview with TJ Sports, Gill explained,
“It’s very hard to play with LeBron James. The reason why is because you have to completely change your game. LeBron is really the de facto point guard even though he’s six-foot-nine, 270 pounds, he’s going to have the basketball most of the time.”
Gill further claimed that Kyrie Irving, who, unlike Westbrook, is more of a scorer than a facilitator, is the only guard who enjoyed success alongside James due to his offensive prowess. He said,
“With the exception of Kyrie Irving who’s really is a combo guard but he really leans more towards being a shooting guard, everybody has to change their game because LeBron has the basketball most of the time. That’s why Westbrook struggled [with the Lakers] because he wasn’t really allowed to play his position full-time.”
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Gill is spot on. Westbrook consistently ranked among the players with the highest usage rate in the NBA before joining the Lakers. A player’s usage rate is the percentage of a team’s plays they are involved in when they are in the game. Since his third season in the league, Westbrook’s usage rate was above 30%. And from there on out, for 11 seasons, his usage rate did not drop below that mark.
However, in his first season with the Lakers, Westbrook’s usage rate dropped to 27.3%, the second-lowest of his career. The team acquired the veteran guard from the Washington Wizards to ease James’ playmaking and scoring burden. However, in Westbrook’s debut season with the Lakers, the four-time MVP’s usage rate increased from the previous season and was his highest since the 2014-15 season.
While James’ usage rate has consistently remained above 30% since his third season in the NBA, his superstar teammates, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and Kevin Love, saw their usage rate dwindle significantly when playing alongside the four-time Finals MVP. James has always been the first option on any team, and every time he teamed up with other superstars, they’ve had to accept a diminished role in the offense to ensure the team succeeds.
While some adapted and continued to thrive, like Wade and Anthony Davis, and eventually Love, others, like Westbrook, struggled significantly.
When Charles Barkley destroyed LeBron James for criticizing teammates
During the 2016-17 season, the Cavaliers had a rough January. They went 5-6 in their first 11 games of 2017, including a run of five losses in seven games. After a 124-122
loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, James called out the Cavaliers’ front office and claimed the team lacked depth. He said,
“We’re not better than last year. From a personnel standpoint. It’s like when you don’t have bodies. It’s tough. The f***ing grind of the regular season. We’re a top-heavy team. We have a top-heavy team. We top-heavy as s***. It’s me, [Kyrie Irving], [Kevin Love]. It’s top-heavy.”
On an episode of Inside the NBA. Hall of Famer Charles Barkley slammed James for his comments, saying,
“Inappropriate. Whiny. All of the above. The Cleveland Cavaliers, they have given him everything he wanted. They have the highest payroll in NBA history… He’s the best player in the world. Does he want all of the good players? He don’t want to compete?”
James took exception to Barkley’s comments and snapped back by listing the Hall of Famer’s indiscretions, saying,
“He’s a hater. What makes what he says credible? Because he’s on TV? I’m not going to let him disrespect my legacy like that. I’m not the one who threw somebody through a window. I never spit on a kid. I never had unpaid debt in Las Vegas. I never said, ‘I’m not a role model.’ I never showed up to All-Star Weekend on Sunday because I was in Vegas all weekend partying.”
Barkley took the high road. He claimed some of what James said was true. However, his criticism about the four-time MVP was limited to basketball, and he would keep it that. It’s not often that James snaps back and brings up someone’s personal life. Barkley’s comments clearly wounded the then-Cavaliers star.
