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“When LeBron James and Anthony Davis were out you did nothing”: Fans give Russell Westbrook a reality check as he tries to put it all on the Lakers duo and Frank Vogel

Akash Murty
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"When LeBron James and Anthony Davis were out you did nothing": Fans give Russell Westbrook a reality check as he tries to put it all on the Lakers duo and Frank Vogel

Russell Westbrook goes off on LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Frank Vogel and blames everyone in LA for the worst season of his career.

LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, and the Los Angeles Lakers all had a tragic end to the 2021-22 season which each one of them would have thought will bring only joy.

The 2020 Champion duo were looking for a third superstar to carry some of their load, as they didn’t want their 2022 to end the way 2021 ended. They found Brodie the most viable option over DeMar DeRozan and Buddy Hield as he had just come off leading a lottery-bound Wizards to the Playoffs.

Also read: “The whole Frank Vogel-Los Angeles Lakers situation is frightening… It’s so cringe!”: Warriors’ Draymond Green gives his opinion on the Lakers scapegoating their Head Coach

The Lakers’ management backed by James and AD’s decision traded almost all of the team’s young and dynamic supporting cast only to get Westbrook and several other veterans who were all well into their declined careers.

And now as the Lakers are officially out of the Post-season, most of the media and fans blame the 2017 MVP and the 2020 champion coach, as they did throughout the campaign. The latter has already lost his job as the head coach, and now Brodie puts his case forward to prove he’s not the one to blame while throwing coach Vogel and his teammates under the bus.

Russell Westbrook has his say on his treatment by LeBron James, AD and Coach Vogel, fans disagree

Westbrook averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game this season while shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 29.8 percent from beyond the arc. Both his usage rate and his points per game were at the lowest since his sophomore season in the league. And the 9x All-Star believes that’s one of the reasons he is not the one to blame.

All 3 superstars might have had their career-defining year. The most hit among them could be Russ, who might not even get the opportunity to be a third option for a championship-contending team.

While AD might never get to be the face of a franchise with his fragile fitness, King James might not be seen as an MVP-caliber player like he was in 2020, despite him averaging over a mammoth 30 PPG in his 19th year in the league.

But Brodie coming up with these statements while both AD and James didn’t openly put the responsibility of losing on him, will only damage his chances of running it back in LA.

He might be upset that the duo didn’t defend him enough throughout the season when they were the reason he even sacrificed his style of play to win a ring. But NBA Twitter is here to give him a reality check.

Also read: “Going for a scoring title without making the playoffs is the most wackest thing”: LeBron James sounds off on chasing stats over winning after disappointing Lakers season

There’s so much “I” in his exit interview than “us” or “team” that even after all his sacrifices, it’s hard to believe that he bothered much about the team as he was having one of the worst seasons of his career.

If it was Kobe Bryant with those “I” statements, the NBA community wouldn’t bother much because of what he could do by himself. But Westbrook is surely a hard pill to swallow for anyone in LA right now. And these statements at this time wouldn’t help him or anybody at all.

About the author

Akash Murty

Akash Murty

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An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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