“Russell Westbrook is the best player in the NBA right now”: When Rasheed Wallace snubbed LeBron James, Kevin Durant when naming the best player in the league

Russell Westbrook

LeBron James and Russell Westbrook are getting a new coaching staff this offseason, and the changes continue with Rasheed Wallace being hired as the new assistant coach.

The Lakers are trying to make up for a disastrous season last year, and the changes started right at the top with head coach Frank Vogel being fired.

Recently, the Lakers hired Darvin Ham as their head coach, and they just filled in the assistant position as well with Rasheed Wallace.

The hope is that with a new regime, the trio of Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, and LeBron James can reach their full potential. However, there is a lot of work to be done to reach that goal. After finishing 33-49 last year, the Lakers made it clear that the issues went beyond just the coaching.

Westbrook in particular disappointed the most out of the new big three as his stats heavily declined, and he looked more like a burden than a star.

LA will have to make moves in free agency to construct an ideal roster around their three stars, and that’s where the real fun will begin with this team this offseason.

Also Read: ‘Don’t think LeBron James would be as successful in 80s-90s’: When Rasheed Wallace claimed Lakers star wouldn’t survive in the Michael Jordan era

Rasheed Wallace once had high praise for Russell Westbrook

If there is anyone who might be happing to join perhaps the most difficult coaching room in the NBA, it might just be Rasheed Wallace.

The former NBA player once claimed that Russell Westbrook was the best player in the NBA, ahead of players like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

On the scale of wildest takes, that definitely has to be up there. Russell Westbrook has been great throughout his career, but there was never a point where he was seen as the overwhelming best player in the league. However, Wallace felt this way just as recent as last year (2021) when Westbrook was a member of the Wizards.

“Did anybody else just read those numbers that was put up?” he asked. “I mean, goodness gracious, this man is right now — I gotta say, Russ is the best player in the NBA right now. That’s no disrespect to KD, and Kyrie and LeBron. But, aye, right now… what this kid is doing?”

These comments came after Westbrook averaged yet another triple double for the season last year on Washington. The feat was definitely impressive, but it was shocking to hear Westbrook be named as the best player in the league. You can tell from the reactions of the rest of the crew as well that this comment came as a major surprise.

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Post Edited By: Ashish Priyadarshi
LeBron James Los Angeles Lakers NBA rasheed wallace Russell Westbrook

About the author

Ashish Priyadarshi

Ashish Priyadarshi is The SportsRush's content manager and editor. Ashish freelanced for 1 year in the NFL division before taking on an editorial role in the company. He then tacked on managing content while adding on a writing role in the NBA division. Ashish has been closely following the NFL and NBA since the 2012 season when the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and Derrick Rose was at the height of his powers. Since then, Ashish has focused on honing his knowledge for both leagues in, even writing crossover pieces. In his free time, Ashish is an avid basketball player, he loves to watch movies and TV shows, immersing himself in the cinematic world. Ashish studies computer science and data science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and would love to mesh his love for sports with his technical skills.

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