A video of Russell Westbrook dancing and enjoying his 35th birthday party has gone viral, as the Clippers point guard is seen busting out some smooth moves with one overenthusiastic party guest.
Russell Westbrook celebrating his 35th birthday 🔥 pic.twitter.com/EX4QNjDiU9
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 13, 2023
It is great to see Westbrook enjoy time away from basketball after the tough spells he’s had to overcome in recent seasons. The Lakers experience was toxic for him and his family, as fan hate addressed to Russell and Nina Westbrook took a toll on the player. Thankfully, he got traded away and bought out, which allowed him to stay in his home state of California and join the Clippers.
After a slow start to life as a Clipper, Westbrook solidified his position on the team after performing well in the playoffs in the absence of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. He was doing a great job as the starting guard in the first few games of the season before the Clippers made a trade for James Harden, which has prompted the team to lose all four games they’ve played with Harden in the lineup since.
Westbrook is averaging decent numbers this season, 14.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 6.0 assists through nine games. He has continued performing at the rate you’d expect him to after Harden’s inclusion as week, with Ty Lue trusting Russ on the ball instead of benching him or having him play as an off-ball guard. Whether this sticks is something we’ll see, but the Clippers’ problems this season cannot be put on Westbrook.
Russell Westbrook Is Happy With The Clippers
Given Westbrook just celebrated his 35th birthday, we know basketball is not going to be his life for much longer. Pursuing happiness and stability may be more important to Russ at this point than mindlessly ring-chasing. After the dark times of recent seasons when Russ nearly found himself out of the league, he explained why playing for the Clippers brings him happiness.
“I’m very grateful for an opportunity and a team that wanted me during a tough time… just for myself and basketball-wise being able to come to a spot where I was embraced. I told myself I would give like I always have and I would be the best I possibly be. This game is supposed to be fun, that’s who I am, and that’s the energy I bring. That joy to me is what makes me who I am.”
Russ isn’t the MVP-level point guard we remember from a few seasons ago, as he adjusts to his new reality in the NBA. He’s a role-playing point guard who’s succeeded in being the primary facilitator for Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Unfortunately, the move for James Harden has put Westbrook in a tough spot as he’s having to share responsibilities with Harden.
The natural solution for the Clippers is to bench either Harden or Westbrook and let one run the starting lineup with the other one running the bench unit. Given Russ has been trusted with running bench units on the Lakers and at times with the Clippers, it’s likely the team relies upon him to do that again as the sixth man behind Harden.
However, there is a strong argument to be made that Russ deserves to start over Harden given his proven complementary play with George and Leonard, along with his better performances than Harden in the last week. It’ll be interesting to see what they decide.
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