Russell Westbrook
Westbrook played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins and earned third-team all-conference honors in the Pac-10. He was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics, who then relocated to Oklahoma City that same week. Westbrook played for the Thunder for 11 seasons. He appeared in the NBA Finals as a member of the Thunder in 2012, losing to the Miami Heat. In 2019, Westbrook was traded to the Houston Rockets, playing one season for the organization before being traded again to the Washington Wizards in 2020. After a season in Washington, he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2021. Following two relatively disappointing seasons with the Lakers, Westbrook was traded to the Utah Jazz in 2023 and was bought out of his contract, joining the Los Angeles Clippers later in the 2022–23 season.
Westbrook has represented the United States national team twice, winning gold medals in the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Olympics.
Early life
Russell Westbrook III[1] was born in Long Beach, California, to Russell Westbrook Jr. and Shannon Horton. He has a younger brother named Raynard.[2] Growing up in Hawthorne,[3][4][5] Westbrook and his best friend Khelcey Barrs III had hopes of going to UCLA and playing together.[6] At age 16, Barrs was already known to have excellent basketball skills and received college scholarship offers.[7] In May 2004, Barrs died from an enlarged heart during a pick-up game.[8][9] After Barrs' death, Westbrook seemed even more determined to excel in honor of his best friend's memory.[7] Westbrook never fails to wear a "KB3" wristband in loving memory of his best friend.
High school career
Westbrook entered Leuzinger High School as a point guard who stood only 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) tall and weighed only 140 pounds (64 kg), although he did have large (size 14) feet. He did not start on his school's varsity team until his junior year,[9] and did not receive his first college recruiting letter until the summer before his senior year. Westbrook grew to his adult height of 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) that same summer.[10][11]
During his senior year, Westbrook averaged 25.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.1 steals, and 2.3 assists and helped lead them to a 25–4 record. That same season, he recorded 14 double-doubles, scored 30 or more points on eight separate occasions, and registered a career-best 51 points at Carson on January 6, 2006. Westbrook initially did not attract much attention from top college basketball programs.[12] After his height increased, contributing to him averaging more than 25 points per game and becoming a solid college basketball prospect, coach Ben Howland recruited him to play for the UCLA Bruins.[12] Westbrook declined other offers while waiting for the Bruins' Jordan Farmar to leave early for the NBA and free up a scholarship
College career
Westbrook wore number 0 throughout his career at the University of California, Los Angeles. As a freshman in 2006–07, he played as a backup to Darren Collison and was primarily used as a defender and energy player off the bench. Westbrook averaged 3.4 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 0.7 assists on the year. During the off-season, he trained extensively, both in the weight room and in the gym, where he faced NBA veterans who visited Los Angeles.[15] The next season, Collison was injured and Westbrook was named the starter. He finished the season averaging 12.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.6 steals. At the end of the year, he was named All-Pac-10 Third Team and won the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year.[16]
Professional career
Westbrook was selected fourth overall in the 2008 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics, which then relocated to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder six days later. He signed with the team on July 5, 2008.[18] On March 2, 2009, Westbrook recorded his first career triple-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He was the first rookie since Chris Paul and the third rookie in Sonics/Thunder franchise history (Art Harris and Gary Payton) to record a triple-double.[19]
Westbrook averaged 15.3 points, 5.3 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game in his rookie season. He finished fourth in the 2008–09 NBA Rookie of the Year voting[20] and was named to the NBA's NBA All-Rookie First Team.[12]
In his second season, and his first season as a full-time starter, Westbrook averaged 16.1 points, 8.0 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game. The Thunder made a huge turnaround by more than doubling their wins from the previous season and qualified for the playoffs with a 50–32 record. The Thunder were eliminated by the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in the first round. In the series, Westbrook stepped up his play from the regular season, averaging 20.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 3.2 steals
On November 26, 2010, Westbrook scored a then-career-high 43 points against the Indiana Pacers.[21] Westbrook was selected by NBA head coaches to be a Western Conference reserve for the 2011 NBA All-Star Game.[22] This was his first all-star appearance. Westbrook finished the season with averages of 21.9 points, 8.2 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.9 steals. He was named to the All-NBA Second Team for the first time. The Thunder finished the season at 55–27 and lost to the eventual world champion Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals. Westbrook averaged 23.8 points, 6.4 assists, and 5.4 rebounds in the playoffs.[citation needed]
In the 2011–12 season, Westbrook was again selected by the coaches to participate in the 2012 NBA All-Star Game. On March 23, 2012, he scored a career-high 45 points in a 149–140 double overtime win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. He averaged 23.6 points, 5.5 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.7 steals for the lockout-shortened season and was voted to the All-NBA Second Team for the second year in a row.
Westbrook helped lead the Thunder to the NBA Finals for the first time since the franchise relocated, but they would lose in five games to the Miami Heat. On June 12, in Game 1 of the Finals, Westbrook recorded 27 points and 11 assists in a 105–94 victory. In a Game 4 loss, Westbrook scored a playoff career-high 43 points.
Westbrook was once again selected for the NBA All-Star Game.[citation needed] He finished the 2012–13 season averaging 23.2 points, 7.4 assists, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game.[24] Westbrook helped lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to the playoffs and the first seed in the Western Conference. They would go on to face the 8th seed Houston Rockets in the first round.[citation needed] On April 25, 2013, in the second game of the series, Westbrook injured his right knee when Rockets guard Patrick Beverley collided with him in an attempt to steal the ball. Although Westbrook was clearly bothered by the injury, he would continue playing and finished the game with 29 points. It was revealed the next day that he had suffered a slight tear in his right meniscus.[25] He had surgery on April 27, 2013, and was declared out for the rest of the playoffs.[26] Without Westbrook, the Thunder defeated the Rockets in six games,[27] but fell to the Memphis Grizzlies in five games in the next round.[28] Westbrook was named to the All-NBA Second Team for the third consecutive year.[citation needed]
Multiple surgeries and comeback (2013–15)
Prior to the start of the 2013–14 season, Westbrook had a second surgery on his right knee, which set back his return to basketball.[29] Despite reports that he would miss the first two weeks of the regular season, Westbrook only missed the first two games before returning to action.[citation needed] On December 26, however, it was announced that Westbrook would undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and would be out until after the All-Star break.[30] The Thunder were able to remain competitive despite his absence due mainly to Kevin Durant's stellar play. Westbrook returned to the lineup on February 20, 2014. He played the rest of the season on limited minutes and sat out the second night of back-to-backs.[citation needed]
Westbrook and the Thunder finished with a 59–23 record, earning the second seed in the Western Conference. They advanced to the Western Conference Finals, where they faced the San Antonio Spurs. On May 27, 2014, in a Game 4 victory, Westbrook recorded 40 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assists and 5 steals. The Thunder lost the series to the eventual NBA champion Spurs in six games. Westbrook averaged 26.7 points, 8.1 assists, and 7.3 rebounds in the postseason
After tying a career-high 45 points on February 4, 2015, in a 102–91 win over the New Orleans Pelicans,[33] Westbrook broke that mark to score a new career-high of 48 points two days later, this time in a 116–113 loss to the Pelicans.[34] After being injured the previous year, Westbrook returned to the All-Star game in 2015. He tallied 41 points and was named the All-Star MVP.[35] On February 27, in a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, Westbrook recorded 40 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists to become the first player to have three straight triple-doubles since LeBron James did so in 2009.[36]
On March 4, Westbrook set career highs with 49 points and 16 rebounds. He added 10 assists for his fourth consecutive triple-double, helping the Thunder defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 123–118 in overtime.[37] His streak came to an end the following night against the Chicago Bulls as he recorded 43 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in a 105–108 loss.[38] On April 12, he scored a career-high 54 points on 21-of-43 shooting in a losing effort to the Indiana Pacers.[39] He went on to help the Thunder win the team's final two games of the 2014–15 season; nevertheless, the team missed the playoffs, finishing ninth in the West with a 45–37 record.[citation needed]
Second All-Star Game MVP and coming up short (2015–16)
On October 30, 2015, to begin the 2015–16 season, Westbrook and Durant each scored 40 points against the Orlando Magic.[40][41] On January 4, Westbrook was named Western Conference co-Player of the Month for December alongside Durant
In the playoffs, Westbrook helped guide the Thunder past the Dallas Mavericks in the first round and the San Antonio Spurs in the second round. In the Western Conference Finals, they faced the defending champion Golden State Warriors, taking home court advantage after stealing Game 1 of the series on the road. With the series tied at 1–1 after Game 2, the Thunder returned home and took a 3–1 advantage with two home wins. In Game 4, Westbrook recorded his fifth career playoff triple-double with 36 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in a 118–94 win.[46] Despite leading the series 3–1, the Thunder were defeated four games to three by the Warriors to bow out of the playoffs
