Russell Westbrook finished a terrible 2021/22 NBA season with the Los Angeles Lakers, looking nothing like he and the Lakers’ faithful expected him to be, earning a lot of criticism thanks to his inconsistent performances, and his lack of accountability and more.
It was a tumultuous first campaign for Russ, and everybody wants him out of the team now. However, not all people want to see him fail, and Russ still has some supporters within and outside the Lakers organization. One of them is Mychal Thompson, Klay Thompson’s dad and a former Lakers star.
Recently, Thompson claimed that Westbrook will show something different next year to prove his doubters wrong. On SiriusXM NBA Radio, the former center praised Westbrook and predicted a redemption season for him.
"He knows a lot of people are blaming him wrongly for the Lakers failures."
Mychal Thompson sees Russell Westbrook bouncing back for the Lakers this season #LakeShow@champagnennuts | @adaniels33 | @thegoodshepard_ pic.twitter.com/QQtvlgHhqA
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) August 16, 2022
“Russ has a lot of pride,” Thompson said. “He didn’t have his best year last year, and he knows a lot of people are blaming him wrongly for the Lakers failures. But I think Russ is going to come in with the right attitude to prove everybody wrong.”
“Darvin Ham, the man’s got a lot of respect from everybody, and he’s a guy who’s not afraid to speak his mind, and I think players like Russell Westbrook and AD and LeBron respect that.
“When you have a strong personality like Darvin Ham. And I think Russell Westbrook is going to fall in line and come back and have a strong season, just to prove all the doubters out there wrong.”
Just like Thompson, others within the organization want and hope to see Russ succeed next season. New head coach Darvin Ham is really high on Westbrook, but he’ll go against a lot of people trying to make Russ a reliable player again. This new season will present many challenges to the Lakers, and keeping Westbrook on the roster will add more.
