Russell Westbrook is one of the most polarizing athletes…well…ever.
He’s indisputably NBA’s triple-double king. He’s spent his entire career putting up some of the wildest numbers we’ve ever seen, but they haven’t always been the most efficient.
And, even with those big numbers, he has his failures that have come in the postseason and still has yet to win an NBA championship. And that’s exactly what Stephen A. Smith had to say about Westbrook after he had a monster game against the Indiana Pacers.
Westbrook put up a stat line no one had ever seen before. But on First Take, Stephen A. said he didn’t care about Westbrook’s big game because he hadn’t won a championship yet.
“If Russell Westbrook was a better 3-point shooter, could you imagine what he would’ve done? I’m here to tell you he would’ve won a championship by now.”
It was criticism that really didn’t seem warranted — especially after Westbrook’s big night.
Westbrook’s wife, Nina, even had to step in and speak about it via Instagram because it was so bad.
“So… how tiring it is to be minding your own business and have notifications pop up on your phone about people being negative and hating on your family…There are several things wrong with what @stephenasmith says here.”
On Tuesday night, after a game against the Hornets, Westbrook finally got to say his piece on the criticism. And he spoke so eloquently about how he might not have an NBA championship but how he was already a “champion” as soon as he hit the NBA
The perspective here is incredible. He went on for two minutes.
Russell Westbrook on Stephen A. Smith
"One thing I won't allow to happen anymore is let people create narratives & constantly just talking shit for no reason about me because I lay it on the line every night and I use my platform to be able to help people all across the world." pic.twitter.com/8oJi0E4dwT
— Hoop District (@Hoop_District) March 31, 2021
The whole thing is worth a listen, but this part stuck out.
“I sit back, I don’t say much. I don’t say — I don’t like to go back and forth about people, but one thing I won’t allow to happen anymore is to let people create narratives and constantly just talking [expletive] for no reason about me, because I lay it on the line every night. I use my platform to be able to help people across the world. Nobody can take that away from me. I’ve been blessed to be able to have a platform to do it and, like I said before, a championship don’t change my life. I’m happy. I was a champion once I made it to the NBA. I grew up in the streets. I’m a champion. I don’t have to be an NBA champion. I know how many people that got NBA championships that’s miserable, haven’t done nothing for their community, haven’t done nothing for the people in our world. And for me, man, my legacy, like I mentioned before, is not based on what I do on this court.
That’s so powerful. And just perfectly said. Shouts to Russ, man.
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