The level of respect for Russell Westbrook

[Asian Celtic]

This is something KD would say about Westbrook in the media.

[MovieMuscle]

I hope he wins a ring with OKC. It'll do for him what Dirks ring did for his perception and all-time rankings. It'll also simultaneously bury Durant regardless of how many rings Durant wins, if Westbrook and those "other cats" can do it, it would be the sweetest basketball justice ever.


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Not really because he needed two other high scorers by him to win. Dirk is one of a kind.

[ISayshowmee]

Will Westbrook learn to share the ball ? If he does, will his tenacity go south ?

[jordan0386]

His game doesn't have to change much.

He can just dime up PG and Melo instead of Kanter.

He must cut the 3s tho. Not his lane.

[Iplaytolose]

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.

Westbrook was on Rose's level that year. It's not only that Westbrook has gotten even better, and like you said, Rose has gotten worse at the same time. I think Rose was in a more advantageous situation mainly cause he was the primary guy with a coach that usually gets the best out of his PG position anyway. He had a great team defense that backed him up. Also let's not forget the "Why can't I be MVP" narrative there too. Westbrook could have at least been as productive, if not better than Rose if they swapped teams during Rose's MVP run.

[Impuniti]

I hope he wins a ring with OKC. It'll do for him what Dirks ring did for his perception and all-time rankings. It'll also simultaneously bury Durant regardless of how many rings Durant wins, if Westbrook and those "other cats" can do it, it would be the sweetest basketball justice ever.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

[KayDee35]

I remember when stat-padding was frowned upon but now it's the heroic thing to do.
I remember when being a gentleman to the press was considered the norm but now treating them poorly is celebrated.
I remember when hero ball was considered dead but now it's the alpha way to play.
I remember when lazy defense was trashed but now it's just conserving energy for the more important end of the floor.
I remember when lack of winning was harmful to a player's legacy but now signing the biggest deal in history is considered more important.

I think we can officially elect Russ as the new RGM Golden Boy.

[r0drig0lac]

goatbrook is the man

[naabzor]

I literally do not care at all about what players do outside of the basketball court. Who cares. They are just people who play a game. The level of attention they get outside how good they are at putting a ball in a basket is RIDICULOUS.

[blazeyo]

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.

Westbrook was on Rose's level that year. It's not only that Westbrook has gotten even better, and like you said, Rose has gotten worse at the same time. I think Rose was in a more advantageous situation mainly cause he was the primary guy with a coach that usually gets the best out of his PG position anyway. He had a great team defense that backed him up. Also let's not forget the "Why can't I be MVP" narrative there too. Westbrook could have at least been as productive, if not better than Rose if they swapped teams during Rose's MVP run.

2010-2011 Russ was on the same level as rose??? by which criteria really? He was surrounded by a team that fit him much much better, with better talent and with better spacing and he was still inferior to rose by every stat available.
Not to mention that OKC was worse with him on the court.

Russ basically exploded once the league had transitioned into a 3pt dominant league and the lanes were even more open for him for the drive.

Rose in his prime was on a different level athletically, vertically, laterally and from end to end. A prime Rose in this era would have been unstoppable and unfair. The difference between the Rose you see now and prime Rose is significant.
Not to mention that at the time he was a better shooter and a finisher aswell.

He never deserved that MVP, but he had a superstar impact on his team, while WB did not.

[Yoshun]

I remember when stat-padding was frowned upon but now it's the heroic thing to do.
I remember when being a gentleman to the press was considered the norm but now treating them poorly is celebrated.
I remember when hero ball was considered dead but now it's the alpha way to play.
I remember when lazy defense was trashed but now it's just conserving energy for the more important end of the floor.
I remember when lack of winning was harmful to a player's legacy but now signing the biggest deal in history is considered more important.

I think we can officially elect Russ as the new RGM Golden Boy.

Golden Boy? Westbrook is currently one of the most polarizing players on this board.

[Sign5]

That's because he wasn't that year. Rose got way worse and Westbrook got way better since.

Westbrook was on Rose's level that year. It's not only that Westbrook has gotten even better, and like you said, Rose has gotten worse at the same time. I think Rose was in a more advantageous situation mainly cause he was the primary guy with a coach that usually gets the best out of his PG position anyway. He had a great team defense that backed him up. Also let's not forget the "Why can't I be MVP" narrative there too. Westbrook could have at least been as productive, if not better than Rose if they swapped teams during Rose's MVP run.

2010-2011 Russ was on the same level as rose??? by which criteria really? He was surrounded by a team that fit him much much better, with better talent and with better spacing and he was still inferior to rose by every stat available.
Not to mention that OKC was worse with him on the court.

Russ basically exploded once the league had transitioned into a 3pt dominant league and the lanes were even more open for him for the drive.

Rose in his prime was on a different level athletically, vertically, laterally and from end to end. A prime Rose in this era would have been unstoppable and unfair. The difference between the Rose you see now and prime Rose is significant.
Not to mention that at the time he was a better shooter and a finisher aswell.

He never deserved that MVP, but he had a superstar impact on his team, while WB did not.

Ok statements like these are complete revisionist history. Rose was NOT on "different level" from Westbrook from an athletic standpoint, thats absurd and false.

[ishoy123]

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.

John Wall doesn't cheat. Dude is a true man.

http://www.foxsports.com/nba/story/john-wall-says-he-is-not-ready-to-be-in-a-faithful-relationship-021715

[Wallace_Wallace]

I respect Westbrook off the court. As much of a douche he seems to be in the press conference, he's actually a really nice guy in person. My buddy and I met him on two separate occasions outside of UNLV practice facilities during USA basketball, he took pictures, asked us what are some good places to eat here, shook our hands and told us to have a good day. Unlike KD/LeBron, who just acted like they were kings looking down amongst us peasants and walked away, or maybe they had a bad day.

On the court though, it's really hard to figure out what Westbrook is thinking on the court sometimes. We all love his fiery competitiveness, but as far as his overall skill set? It feels like he's a less skilled Derrick Rose but waaayyy more durable.

[Edrees]

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.

John Wall doesn't cheat. Dude is a true man.

http://www.foxsports.com/nba/story/john-wall-says-he-is-not-ready-to-be-in-a-faithful-relationship-021715

really, really don't get why more nba players don't take this route, then get married around age 30-32.