Russell Westbrook is one of the most polarizing superstars in NBA history. The 37-year-old guard is a former league MVP and one of the greatest point guards ever, but he’s shared a contentious relationship with the media. The version of Westbrook that confronts the media portrays a negative image of him as a person, which has often led to fan hate, but that’s not the person he is off the court.
Westbrook recently slammed the media after a Sacramento Kings loss for pushing false narratives about players in the locker room, publicly sticking up for his younger teammates amid a rough season.
As a result, The Sporting News’ Stephen Noh has revealed what multiple Westbrook teammates over the years have had to say about sharing a locker room with him. By all accounts, most former teammates refer to Westbrook as one of the best people they’ve shared a locker room with.
Houston Rockets center Clint Capela was teammates with Westbrook for 35 games in the 2019-20 season in Houston and had wonderful things about Westbrook, with the writer noting that Westbrook once handed Capela an expensive bracelet off his wrist just because the Swiss center complimented it.
“He called Russ “the most genuine superstar” that he’s ever played with. ‘Very happy person. Very nice guy,’ Capela told me. ‘Always smiling, always joking around. I was like wow, I never thought that a superstar could also be that great of a guy.’ Capela once noted that he loved an expensive bracelet that Westbrook was wearing. Westbrook immediately took it off his wrist and handed it to him as a gift.”
Westbrook joined the Denver Nuggets for the 2023-24 season after being recruited there by fellow NBA veteran DeAndre Jordan. Jordan also revealed what a positive experience being teammates with Westbrook was.
“He paid for dinners, got clothes for guys. It’s cool to be able to see him give back to guys who really look up to him.”
Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant, who was teammates with Westbrook in OKC as a rookie, also had great things to say about his giving nature when it came to his teammates.
“‘I’ve seen him a few times during breakfast, balancing his own checkbook. I’m asking him, like ‘Bro, you doing this yourself?”
Westbrook is averaging 15.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 6.5 assists for the Kings this season, with the franchise already eliminated from Playoff contention with a 16-51 record. Nonetheless, Westbrook has been motivated to end the season strong and help the young players on the franchise move forward after a damaging season.
The Kings have their fair share of veterans at the moment, such as DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Domantas Sabonis, and more, but Westbrook’s role on the young core of Nique Clifford, Maxime Raynaud, Dylan Cardwell, and Devin Carter, by all accounts, has been incredibly impactful. This sort of positive locker room influence can help Westbrook continue getting roster spots in the NBA even after his clear on-court decline over the last few seasons.
A lot of the negative locker room influence chatter comes from his toxic tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers, but that situation had influence from multiple external parties and cannot really be unilaterally attributed to Westbrook as his fault.
All Westbrook can do is focus on finishing the season strong. While he will try to protect his young teammates from the media, sometimes even aggressively, it’s because he cares more about what they will go through than the image that is portrayed to the world.
