One of the criticisms aimed toward Russell Westbrook throughout his career has been his poor shooting, especially in clutch moments. Westbrook is a below-average shooter at best, especially from beyond the three-point line. And his late-game decision-making has never been heralded. But one statistic shows that Westbrook can be reliable when making clutch shots with almost no time left in the game.
Russell Westbrook, Kobe Bryant, and Vince Carter are the three players who have made the most three-point shots in the final 5 seconds of the game in the last 25 years. This statistic came to light after Westbrook made an incredible three-pointer in the closing seconds of the Lakers game against the Toronto Raptors to send the game to overtime.
Russell Westbrook hears all the noise 😤
His most recent clutch play was against the Raptors on Sunday to help the Lakers force OT and then eventually win the game 💪 pic.twitter.com/narSF4gGsZ
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 22, 2022
Westbrook’s shot allowed the Lakers to win the game, one that will help them massively in the Western Conference standings. The Lakers have lost way too many games this season, so any wins they can get will help their pursuit in trying to secure a playoff spot by the end of the season.
Russell Westbrook has struggled with the Lakers this season. His style of play has not been at all complimentary to his teammates, and his lack of effort on the defensive end has only made things worse. Westbrook will be desperate to try to fix this situation in the final stretch of the season and help the Lakers make a deep run in the playoffs.
For Westbrook, he and the Lakers started out the season as favorites to win the NBA championship. But over the course of the season, they have shown that they are nowhere near that conversation. If the Lakers are still dreaming of winning the NBA championship, they need to hope for a miracle in order to defy the odds and lift the trophy at the end of the season.
