Russell Westbrook has been heavily criticized this past season thanks to his struggles with the Los Angeles Lakers. The point guard failed to make an impact on the Californian team, where the injuries were ruthless with their other two stars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Westbrook alone couldn’t do the job, which earned him a lot of criticism. His fit with LeBron wasn’t the best either, and fans decided to blame him for everything bad that happened to the Lakers last season.
After a tumultuous first season in LA, the former MVP is ready to bounce back, and the people who love him are ready to defend him against the criticism. His former partner in crime in Washington is one of them. Bradley Beal has nothing bad to say about Westbrook and doesn’t hesitate to defend him.
Bradley Beal Is Tired Of The Russell Westbrook Slander
During his appearance on JJ Redick’s The Old Man and the Podcast, Beal talked about a variety of topics, including his experience playing alongside Westbrook and whether or not the criticism towards Brodie is really earned (36:40).
“One, he’s an amazing teammate. He’s the complete opposite of the picture everybody kind of paints him to be, at least character-wise. If you’re his teammate he rides for you. … He rides for his guys; he loves his team. That’s what he’s all about, even the staff. It’s a respect factor, from top down. And I enjoyed playing with him. We knew what we were getting in practice, and in game, it’s the same guy. He would go hard in practice, pushing everybody. He’d push me. … That part of him is phenomenal.”
Beal did admit that the difference between playing with Westbrook and going against him is very different, but he understands it comes from his competitiveness. He was really glad to share touches with the triple-double king and is ready to defend him against anybody. He believes the Russ slander is uncalled for and won’t be silent about it.
