Russell Westbrook has been heavily criticized for not winning a championship. Last year, Stephen A. Smith was one of those who tried to dismiss Russ’ contributions to the game because he hasn’t won a title.
Still, the current Los Angeles Lakers guard doesn’t think winning a championship will make a big difference for him. Westbrook is a terrific player who has done a lot during his career, yet he gets a lot of bad comments for not winning with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets and Washington Wizards.
Brodie landed in Los Angeles in the summer trying to win that elusive championship, creating a Big 3 with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. So far, the Lakers have struggled to play like legit title contenders, which has set the alarms for Westbrook.
Nevertheless, the player isn’t too worried about that, stating he’ll be fine whether he wins a championship or not.
Via ESPN:
“Russ reminds me of Allen Iverson, wanting to win but wanting to win on his terms,” one Eastern Conference executive told ESPN. “If he can take a step back and win in L.A., it will validate everything else he’s done in the league.”
Westbrook, when informed of the Iverson parallel, pushed back.
“I disagree for multiple reasons,” Westbrook told ESPN. “No. 1, I believe that I am a one-of-a-kind player, and I respect Allen and respect everything he’s done for the game, but I’m not comparable to Allen Iverson by any means. No. 2, is that I’ve been probably — I feel, myself — always trying to fit in to do the best for the betterment of the team. And I’ve always done that in my career, and I’ll continue to do that and whatever happens, happens. If we win a championship, cool. If we don’t, I’m OK with that too and life goes on.”
Westbrook has tried to create something great to win the title. He couldn’t do it in OKC, Houston and Washington, and it looks like his biggest shot at the championship is in L.A. Yet, the Lakers must find a way to turn things around, show consistency and demonstrate they are ready to win their second championship in three years.
Then again, it doesn’t look like Westbrook is bothered about that. He’s well aware of his impact on the game and nothing whoever says to dismiss that will change his mindset.
