Throughout his 17-year NBA career, Russell Westbrook has been known as a guy who goes all out all the time. There’s never been an off switch with Westbrook, not when he was averaging a triple-double and winning the MVP award as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, nor when he’s a super-sub for the Denver Nuggets.
Advertisement
Westbrook’s nonstop motor, combined with his superlative athleticism and competitiveness, have allowed him to be an impact player for so long. Even among other NBA players, themselves the best in the world at what they do, he’s always stood out.
Raymond Felton dropped by Podcast P with Paul George this week, and during his visit, the two shared stories about the time they spent as Westbrook’s teammates.
“That man played the same way in practice the way he do in games,” Felton said when asked for the biggest thing that stood out about playing with Westbrook. “We get in practice, first day of training camp, and this man going 100 miles per hour at me, full speed. I’m at Year 12 at that point, I’m like, ‘Man, I gotta get my s*** together, this man coming at me.'” George laughed and confirmed that to be true, saying, “I tell people that all the time.”
Felton recalled marveling at just how insanely fit Westbrook was, comparing him to an “action figure” when he saw him in the locker room for the first time. Unlike some athletes today who get in peak physical condition through advanced dietary science, though, Westbrook sculpted his body the old-school way.
“PBJs and popcorn,” George said.
Westbrook has bounced around in recent years, playing for the Houston Rockets, Washington Wizards, LA Lakers and LA Clippers before landing in Denver. He’s made a huge impact with the Nuggets, becoming one of Nikola Jokic’s favorite teammates.
The two-year contract that Westbrook signed last summer included a player option for next year, and it appears that he plans on exercising it and running it back.
View this post on Instagram
Despite his success, Westbrook has always been heavily criticized for the supposed shortcomings of his game. Felton was asked why people are so tough on him, and he responded, “People just need something to talk about … When you been so great in your whole career, people are always looking for a way or a reason to try to break you down.”
Felton credited Westbrook for being able to reinvent his game while continuing to be a winning player later in his career. “Anybody as they get older in the league, there are things that are gonna change with your game,” he said. “We saw what Russ did this year, how if you take him off that team in Denver, Denver don’t go as far as they did.”
Westbrook has his shortcomings as a player, but he deserves a lot of credit for the way he’s evolved. Few players have had such success in so many places, and we need to appreciate his unique game while we still can.
