Russell Westbrook has been one of the most criticized players in the NBA for a couple of years now regardless of how great he was with the Thunder. Even before averaging a triple-double for an entire season, Brodie was really great for his team, helping them reach the NBA Finals and always competing for a spot in the big series.
Now people like to call Westbrook toxic, a locker room cancer, and whatever you can think of. That’s why one NBA fan took to Twitter to make the case for Brodie, claiming that almost every superstar that played with him was better with his presence, specifically talking about Kevin Durant, Paul George, and Bradley Beal.
If you take a look at this, you may see that it is true. Every single one of these players has seen their level improved after playing alongside Westbrook, starting from KD, who won the 2014 NBA MVP with the Oklahoma City Thunder, averaging 32.0 points (career-high), 7.4 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game. He had the best years of his career with that Thunder team that just two years before had played in the NBA Finals.
He led the league in points per game in four seasons, (2009-2012 and 2013-14), becoming one of the best players in the association in the process.
Paul George only played two seasons with Westbrook but the impact the latter had on the current Los Angeles Clippers star was big, giving him the offensive load of the team, which PG took and really helped the team. In his second season with the Thunder, George averaged 28.0 points, 8-2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 2.2 steals (league leader) per game, finishing third in MVP votes behind Giannis Antetokounmpo and James Harden, taking the Thunder to the postseason, where Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers took them down in the first round.
Now with the Washington Wizards, we’re seeing how great Brodie has been for Bradley Beal, who is the scoring leader of the league with 32.9 points per outing. The Wizards backcourt has tried to take the team to the next level but the results haven’t gone in their favor.
Beal has seen his level improved with Westbrook this season and he’s praised his new teammate for that. Even though the Wizards are still trying to turn things around, the duo has shown flashes of how good they can be together. Russ is nearly averaging a triple-double again, posting 19.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 9.1 assists for the capital team but they need something extra to actually start competing in the Eastern Conference.
Last year, he couldn’t do much with James Harden given the style of play of the Houston Rockets but wherever he’s gone or whoever has played with him, has seen their level increased by Westbrook. Of course, not everybody agreed with this claim and made the case against the 2017 NBA MVP, explaining why some things happened the way they happened.
https://twitter.com/MagicsBurner/status/1361107526088024066
PG was not better on the pacers lmao you’re smoking
— 𝓽ꫝꫀꪮ (@KobeismyGOAT) February 15, 2021
He literally won mvp and had one of the nets years of his career 😭
— Khidou (@lReffl) February 15, 2021
Beal is averaging the most points of his career and is leading the league in ppg
— 👽 (@alexneedstop) February 15, 2021
https://twitter.com/LebronsPops/status/1361123987875627009https://twitter.com/RyanPer46367418/status/1361193428378406917https://twitter.com/RipGryph/status/1361110385076686849
Why does that even matter if it didn’t lead to wins? His legacy will revolve around stats, idk why that’s so hard for fans to accept.
— Biscayne Buckets 🔥 (@BucketsBiscayne) February 15, 2021
Pg had his only mvp caliber year on the thunder
— Sauce Supremacist (@Peepthefade) February 15, 2021
https://twitter.com/b4dm0nao/status/1361130012565405699
PG in Indiana hello KD is in the mvp race and Beal ig u could say that
— Peter7 (@Hottakes07) February 15, 2021
Kd with russ=MVP. PG with russ=runner up MVP. Beal with russ=all star starter?
— Owen (monte ruined my life) (@FoxForFMVP) February 15, 2021
There is no doubt that Westbrook is a great player and his former teammates have nothing but good things to say about him, as Steven Adams recently revealed. The 32 years old is ready to keep competing in the league and he’s trying hard to do something good with the Wizards but only time will tell how that works for everybody.
**Stats via: Basketball-Reference**
