Russell Westbrook has been dealing with one of the worst seasons in terms of criticism that any superstar in the NBA has dealt with in a long time. The high expectations from Russ mingled with the high expectations of the Los Angeles Lakers fanbase have led to Westbrook getting obliterated on social media and in the traditional media for his poor performances.
Recently, the point guard finally had something to gloat about, as he made an incredibly clutch steal and a three-pointer to send the Lakers to overtime against the Toronto Raptors. The Lakers went on to win that game too, a meaningful contribution by Westbrook was key to a win. Understandably, after the game, Russ was pleased with himself and reminded his haters about his incredible achievements.
It was perceived by some to be a bit of gloating on Westbrook’s part, and his critics weren’t too pleased by Russ’s lack of humility considering that even despite the shot, his season has been an extremely bad one by his standards. Bill Simmons is among those criticizing Russ, calling out his lack of self-awareness on The Bill Simmons Podcast.
“It’s amazing how defiant Russ is when something good finally happened. Like when for once he played well, reporters paid him compliments and then he went, “See! I told you I’ve gone more!”. The lack of self-awareness.”
While there is some truth to the fact that humility might serve to be a better look for Westbrook in this scenario, the urge to talk back to the people that have doubted him and called him names all season is also easy to understand.
Russ has found some form since that game, he had a 22-point triple-double against the Raptors, which he followed up with another 22-point, 10-rebound performance e against the Washington Wizards. If he continues in this vein and has a few more performances that lead to wins, not even people like Simmons will be able to stop Russ from saying ‘I told you so’ to his heart’s content.
