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The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
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Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
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Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
The level of respect for Westbrook is much too high.
This guy stat padded his way to an MVP with an atrocious brand of martyr ball and the highest usage rate ever by a mile.
I've never seen someone get celebrated more for beating two bottom 5 teams than Westbrook did against the Magic and Suns last year.
**** was disgusting and was due mostly to ESPN pumping out the triple double bullsh*t to try and recover their ratings since players kept getting rested on their national games.
This guy stat padded his way to an MVP with an atrocious brand of martyr ball and the highest usage rate ever by a mile.
I've never seen someone get celebrated more for beating two bottom 5 teams than Westbrook did against the Magic and Suns last year.
**** was disgusting and was due mostly to ESPN pumping out the triple double bullsh*t to try and recover their ratings since players kept getting rested on their national games.
Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
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Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
I actually feel he is one of the most petty man in the nba.
Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
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Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
azcatz11 wrote:I'm not a fan of his game. He's too selfish. Great individual player (top 5 for sure) but not someone I want on my team.
Agreed. He's a phenomenal athlete, but I don't see enough of a team player in him to respect him as a ball dominant star payer.
Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
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Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
DonKnock wrote:The level of respect for Westbrook is much too high.
This guy stat padded his way to an MVP with an atrocious brand of martyr ball and the highest usage rate ever by a mile.
I've never seen someone get celebrated more for beating two bottom 5 teams than Westbrook did against the Magic and Suns last year.
**** was disgusting and was due mostly to ESPN pumping out the triple double bullsh*t to try and recover their ratings since players kept getting rested on their national games.
Whilst that is all a little harsh, you're not far off at all. Agreed.
Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
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Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
Lalouie wrote:azcatz11 wrote:I'm not a fan of his game. He's too selfish. Great individual player (top 5 for sure) but not someone I want on my team.
Except the OP doesn't talk about westbrook's game, but about the man, and I'll throw in a few more... He's worked hard to improve every aspect of his game EVERY year in the NBA. He has no entourage, his family is his entourage. No excuses no complaints. As the OP said he'll work with what he's given
I do agree that Westbrook seems like a great dude off the court, but he's not the only one. Curry for example is another guy with no entourage who spends most of his time with his family. I'm sure a lot of other star players are like this as well.
جُنْد فِلَسْطِيْن
Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
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Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
PKABOOICU wrote: I remember another press conference where he literally talked about Andre Roberson being a good player.
I see what you did there

Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
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Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
While I agree that Westbrook does things that are commendable on and off the court, let's be careful about assuming things about the man personally (like he doesn't enjoy the luxuries of being an NBA player and that he's a good father and husband)...sounds cynical, but there have been countless examples of even the "classiest" and "nicest" people making poor choices off the court. And none of us hang out with Westbrook, so none of us know the truth.
Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
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Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
You could say this about a lot of guys in this league. But nothing to take away from westbrook and unfortunately we only sometimes hear the negative things being said about a player but none of us know who the players are off the court.
Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
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Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
Lalouie wrote:Roddy B for 3 wrote:I met an OKC fangirl last year. Her phones home screen was a picture of her and Oladipo with their cheeks pressed together. She smacked talk Durant for ditching. I asked her if she ever meet Russ, she said she had spent a lot of time with him. A couple minutes later she told me "ALL NBA players cheat". Obviously she can't know ALL NBA players cheat. But, she was very pretty and knew Russ and Oladipo. Do some math.
I love Russ the NBA player, I love the narrative that lead to his MVP. I don't forget defending him in '12 when everyone called him a ballhog. But, I think of that girl everytime I hear someone go on about Russ' loyalty.
The man isn't perfect.
I cannot disagree with you because you were there and I wasn't. However there's something missing in your story and it's where you say "a couple of minutes later". From that I have no sense of how the conversation drifted to THAT point. It's an odd sounding couple of minutes later since you were more specific about the time before it.
I'm not trying to defend Westy, well yes I am I guess, but I realize hardly a man is all that innocent and we're talking about a hugely popular nba player. That being said, there Is that unspecified gap in your story. Like, why did she even blurt it out unless there was a specific lead in.
So, sorry, but for now i have to side with my man russ.
Connecting the dots is easier if the conversation went something like this.....
You: so you fooled around with nba players, like oladipo?
Her:yup.,I've been with Victor
You:you know other okc players?
Her (on your cue) : yup, Durant and Westbrook and adams... All nba players cheat
You see,,,,,, I don't get your "a couple of minutes later"
Well the conversation was before the playoffs, so awhile ago. A couple hours after I posted that I remembered a little more.
I DO have a crap memory.
I think her words were "NBA players are hoes" and I said "is Westbrook a hoe? U you know he's got that UCLA baller wife" and then she looked me up and down and said "all NBA players are hoes" I think she said "hoe" instead of "cheats" AND she was drunk. And in a nice car with a nice purse.
I was actually a little broken up about it as she said it and she looked me up and down again and SAID "you ain't ****" then ordered her food. I know I can't prove this, but the cook saw it all happen and still frequently tells me that I'm not ****.
7/1/2019
(I broke a mirror on 7-1-2012)
(I broke a mirror on 7-1-2012)
Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
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Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
Westbrook is a great guy. His best friend growing up suddenly died when he was a teenager. Westbrook still went to his moms house to help out with chores, etc. the friend that passed away was actually the better basketball prospect of the two, Westbrook says that he always plays his heart out to honor his childhood friend.
Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
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Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
clyde21 wrote:Lalouie wrote:azcatz11 wrote:I'm not a fan of his game. He's too selfish. Great individual player (top 5 for sure) but not someone I want on my team.
Except the OP doesn't talk about westbrook's game, but about the man, and I'll throw in a few more... He's worked hard to improve every aspect of his game EVERY year in the NBA. He has no entourage, his family is his entourage. No excuses no complaints. As the OP said he'll work with what he's given
I do agree that Westbrook seems like a great dude off the court, but he's not the only one. Curry for example is another guy with no entourage who spends most of his time with his family. I'm sure a lot of other star players are like this as well.
I'd like Westbrook regardless of his personal life...unless someone's a complete degenerate w/ multiple kids to multiple women and/or a series of arrests I can usually set that stuff aside and judge them on their game.
I honestly prefer it when dudes keep their personal life more low key - it's more professional that way. Like Curry and other marching their kids out at pressers, wives and mothers tweeting at other players or the media or going on talk shows, appearing on reality shows - all of it distracts from the game. Like I wouldn't mind if Cleveland would trade TT because he will soon be more famous for being Khloe's baby daddy than he is a basketball player (if he's not already).
Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
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Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
Fact is that momentum in games is a real thing, while not tangible itself, you can tangibly see the effect it has when teams are on runs and how it can dramatically effect the outcome of games when you can generate any momentum.
Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
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Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
I couldn't agree more with the OP.
What I find funny is the fact the ppl that think he's not a leader are the ones who aren't involved with the NBA in any way other than being fans. The ppl who respect and admire him most are the ones that are employed by the NBA in some capacity.
What I find funny is the fact the ppl that think he's not a leader are the ones who aren't involved with the NBA in any way other than being fans. The ppl who respect and admire him most are the ones that are employed by the NBA in some capacity.
Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
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Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
azcatz11 wrote:I'm not a fan of his game. He's too selfish. Great individual player (top 5 for sure) but not someone I want on my team.
Top 5 player in the league, but you wouldn't want him on your 13 man roster.... unless he's the 14th best player in the league I feel you've done your math wrong here.
If you do not know how good a basketball player Gary Payton was just go and stand near him for a little while, there's a good chance he'll come over and tell you. - Ahmad Rashad
Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
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Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
DonKnock wrote:The level of respect for Westbrook is much too high.
This guy stat padded his way to an MVP with an atrocious brand of martyr ball and the highest usage rate ever by a mile.
I've never seen someone get celebrated more for beating two bottom 5 teams than Westbrook did against the Magic and Suns last year.
**** was disgusting and was due mostly to ESPN pumping out the triple double bullsh*t to try and recover their ratings since players kept getting rested on their national games.
An MVP abandoned ship and Westbrook managed to limit the damage to like an 8 game difference in the win/loss column. You're drunk if you think there was anything cheap, easy or disgraceful about the triple doubles, I recommend watching a few more games.
If you do not know how good a basketball player Gary Payton was just go and stand near him for a little while, there's a good chance he'll come over and tell you. - Ahmad Rashad
Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
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Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
PKABOOICU wrote:I just wanted to make a thread to acknowledge this guy. Some of the things he does off the court seem to go unnoticed. We praise and admire great productivity on the basketball court, but this guy seems genuine off the court as well.
First of all, he's loyal to the bone. He has a wife, a kid, and a family. He really doesnt seem to be bothered by the perks of a great basketball player (nightlife, clubs, etc).
His ultimate escape is something so simple; Fashion. He doesnt talk BS to anyone, and he surely doesnt hear BS from anyone. He goes out, competes every game like its his last (very Iverson like in this regard), and has a tendency to give fans their money's worth.
But to top it all off, I remember a press conference where he literally had Steven Adams' back when a reporter tried to press him. He went out of his way to face the reporter. Like, he really doesnt take sh*t from anyone, and he fights for you like a dog.
He's also surprisingly content with the team he has and rolls with his squad. Time and time again, he's shown that the talent level of players on his teams dont matter to him. He just goes out and competes with what he has, and speaks very highly of who he has with him. I remember another press conference where he literally talked about Andre Roberson being a good player.
Now he has Melo and PG13, and he has seemed to accommodate both of them seamlessly. Nothing really seems to phase the guy. He's just a legit blue collar work horse and really does his best with the guys he has, and doesn't throw anybody under the bus.
And the best thing about him? He's a trolling legend. His outfits speak for his mind. He wore a photographer outfit portraying KD in the Superbowl last year. He signed the richest contract in NBA history on KD's BIRTHDAY! He has one of the funniest meme's out there-
"What? Bro, what are you talkin' about man? Ya'll trippin."
Outside of Kawhi Leonard, Westbrook is the guy I'd love to have on the Lakers. Congrats to OKC for finding a good one. I used to hate him the first couple of years he was in the league, but since KD left, he took a 180* turn for me, and I think he's a great personality on and off the court for the NBA.
Im rooting for Westbrook and the Thunder to win a championship this year. (I know my Lakers sure aint)
I agree, the guy is pretty cool, but the bolded part has not been that much of a struggle for him compared to 90% of other stars, so he hasn't had much reason to complain. While Durant did complain because he just wanted to be seen as greater and seems to have always felt he has to match up to Lebron, Westbrook his whole career has had Durant on his team with pretty solid size and defensive role players around them. For a little while, they both also had Harden, though that was short lived. It's actually been injuries that has been their biggest issue since their finals run. 12-13 (Westbrook injury out for playoffs), 13-14 (Ibaka injury missed first two games of Spurs series), 14-15 (Durant injury, didn't make playoffs).
Westbrook hasn't really had much reason to complain about his team. Now if the Thunder didn't trade for George and Carmelo and they went to next season with a roster somewhat similar to what they had last season, I don't know how content Westbrook would have been. Overall in his career he's basically had a top 3 player next to him since he himself became an All-Star level player, he had one season without where he got to put up historic stats and get an MVP, then now he got George and Melo and still solid role players, especially defensively on the roster. Westbrook hasn't really had much room to be complaining about his lot compared to a lot of other stars around the league.
Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
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Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
I like Westbrook, think he's a great player.
But bro, you've never met Westbrook and don't know ANYTHING about his life off of the court.
Tiger Woods was the most well known, most likable athlete in the world who had everyone's respect.
until this:

But bro, you've never met Westbrook and don't know ANYTHING about his life off of the court.
Tiger Woods was the most well known, most likable athlete in the world who had everyone's respect.
until this:

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." -Martin Luther King Jr
Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
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Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
Westbrook is awesome.
Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
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Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
blazeyo wrote:Rose should have been a rich man's Westbrook. Tragic.
I remember back in the day on realgm when people never thought Westbrook was on Rose's level.
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Re: The level of respect for Russell Westbrook
Iplaytolose wrote:blazeyo wrote:Rose should have been a rich man's Westbrook. Tragic.
I remember back in the day on realgm when people never thought Westbrook was on Rose's level.
That's because he wasn't that year. Rose got way worse and Westbrook got way better since.