Russell Westbrook has been heavily criticized during his tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers thus far. There is no doubt that a lot of fans have blasted him in the past for being a turnover-heavy and inefficient player.
However, while Russell Westbrook’s play on the court isn’t necessarily all great, the criticism should not be targeted at Russell Westbrook the person. As a teammate, Russell Westbrook is by most accounts great, and recently, Juan Toscano-Anderson claimed that Russell Westbrook is one of the best teammates that he’s ever had.
At shootaround this morning, asked Juan Toscano-Anderson about his relationship with Russell Westbrook. He was wearing Westbrook's practice jersey the other day, and his locker is next to Russ. Lot of insight here: pic.twitter.com/pSchX3W3Ri
— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) October 27, 2022
It’s funny because before I met Russ, I didn’t really like Russ. And I think a lot of people have that type of lens about Russ just because he’s so competitive. From the little time that I’ve known Russ… I’ve had some great teammates – Russ is probably in my top five, top three teammates I’ve ever had. He’s an amazing teammate and an amazing person.
At the end of the day, I played overseas for five years before made it to the NBA, so I kind of have a [wider view]. I can differentiate between NBA life and real life. And he’s a human being… he’s not perfect. He’s a human being. And I think people forget that.
It is good to see Juan Toscano-Anderson stick up for Russell Westbrook, and call him an amazing teammate despite all the noise that follows Westbrook. He might play poorly, but that doesn’t mean that Westbrook is a bad person or a bad teammate.
Last season, a number of fans sent death threats to Russell Westbrook’s family, and that sort of conduct is absolutely unacceptable. While some criticism of a player’s play is acceptable, threats are taking the situation absolutely too far. It is clear that some people forget that players and their families are real people.
Russell Westbrook Coming Off The Bench Could Help Him Play Better
There is no doubt that Russell Westbrook played well when coming off the bench for the Los Angeles Lakers this season. A lot of fans have already stated that the best version of Russell Westbrook comes out when he is playing off the bench, and we’ll see if this is a change that Darvin Ham will stick with.
If Russell Westbrook continues to come off the bench and play well, he will likely be a candidate for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award. Hopefully, we see Russell Westbrook continue to embrace his new role, and perhaps he will end up having a bounce-back season.
