Russell Westbrook had been the butt of all jokes and had faced heavy criticism for his performances over the last two years.
He silenced a lot of his critics with his strong play against the Phoenix Suns and his former teammate Kevin Durant came to his defense after Game 4. Westbrook was asked about Durant’s comments after Game 5 and he kept it real.
“I just think that I am a player that makes mistakes like anybody else,” Westbrook said. “I miss shots like anybody else. I turn the ball over like anybody else. But I also do a lot of things that a lot of people can’t do. I have done a lot of things that people have not done in this league so with that it’s a healthy balance. I don’t know what scale people put me on but one thing I won’t allow is I won’t allow other people to put their own expectations on me.”
“I just think that I am a player that makes mistakes like anybody else. I miss shots like anybody else. I turn the ball over like anybody else. But I also do a lot of things that a lot of people can't do.”
Russell Westbrook on Kevin Durant's recent comments.
(via @TomerAzarly) pic.twitter.com/BNpgoAAhC0
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 26, 2023
Westbrook explained that fans and the media have a certain expectation of what he should be doing, but he doesn’t go by that. He is going to do things his way, whether the outside world likes it or not. Durant had stated that people will appreciate Westbrook’s career after he retires and added that it might be fun to make a joke out of Russ but he showed in the series just how good he can be. For his part, Westbrook also thanked his doubters for giving him the motivation to be better.
“Russell Westbrook thanked those who support him — then paused and thanked those who didn’t support him, saying it drove him to be better.”
Russell Westbrook thanked those who support him — then paused and thanked those who didn't support him, saying it drove him to be better.
— Andrew Greif (@AndrewGreif) April 26, 2023
Westbrook finished the series with averages of 23.6 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 7.4 APG, 1.2 SPG, and 1.4 BPG as he played a lot better than anyone could have predicted. He was one of the big reasons why a lot of the games were so competitive, even with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George not being available.
Kevin Durant And Russell Westbrook Spoke About Their Beef
One of the sub-plots of this series had been Durant and Westbrook facing off in the playoffs for the first time. The two hadn’t been on good terms after Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors in 2016, but all those ill feelings are seemingly long forgotten at this point.
Westbrook stated before the series that there is no beef and that he had nothing but respect for Durant. They also dapped up each other after Game 2 and Durant has now come out and stated that there was never any beef between them. That is a bit hard to believe considering the tensions that certainly existed back then, but we’ll take Durant’s word for it.
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