Before things turned ugly for Russell Westbrook, Oscar Robertson tried to warn him about how the fans would inevitably betray him. In an appearance on ‘All the Smoke’ podcast, the ‘Big O’ opened up on the subject with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson and admitted that he hates how it all went down.
Stephen Jackson: “Russell Westbrook has that motor, he has that passion. You can’t really teach a guy to want to do everything on the court, it has to be in you.”
Oscar Robertson: “It’s unfortunate for Westbrook that they’ve been doing some of these things to him. I think the guy is very valuable to any team he’s with. But somehow they want to blame somebody. Why blame him? The guy’s effective for you, he kept the franchise in Oklahoma going for years…
Matt Barnes: “What do you think when you saw him average a triple-double for the season and all the attributes he brings to the team?”
Oscar Robertson: “I went out to see him in Oklahoma and I was very happy for the guy. I told him ‘I’m happy for you but they’re gonna turn on you.’ They’re gonna expect you to do this every night.”
Before Russell Westbrook’s breakout moment, Oscar Robertson was the first and only player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season. Robertson, a 12x NBA All-Star, achieved the feat in 1962 when he averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 11.4 assists per game for the Cincinnati Royals.
The former MVP stood as the only player to achieve those numbers for decades until Russell Westbrook eventually pulled it off four separate times. It was during Westbrook’s first triple-double season that he won his only MVP and it was at that moment when Robertson flew out to give his now-infamous warning.
After nine seasons of greatness for a Thunder team with no history of success, Westbrook felt that he had nothing left to prove to the franchise or its fans. Fresh off his best season yet and at only 28 years old, Russ thought he’d retire with the Thunder and end his days there as an NBA legend.
Even then, Robertson knew what was coming. At the peak of his run, Oscar knew that fans would never be satisfied with Westbrook and that they’d always want more. He even tried to warn the star point guard of what would come before the next season began.
While Russ would stick around with the Thunder for another few years, he was essentially cast aside in favor of a rebuild and his legacy has never been the same. As the scapegoat for all of his subsequent failures, Westbrook’s reputation has been smeared beyond recognition and he’s been routinely labeled as problematic both on the court and in the locker room. The Lakers even went so far as to compare him to an undead vampire “sucking the life” out of the team.
Today, as the newest member of the Nuggets, Westbrook has one last chance to go out on a high note before it’s all said and done. While some people(like Oscar Robertson) remain in his corner, Russ is facing an uphill battle to recover his legacy and disprove the narrative that’s been swirling over his head for years.
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