Five years ago when Russell Westbrook was in his prime notching triple-doubles every single night, no one would’ve talked about him potentially winning the 6th man of the Year award at any point in his career. The only award on his radar was MVP.
But, very clearly, this is a different Russell Westbrook. A very different one. He is no longer an MVP — not even close. Lakers fans were trying to figure out how to get him off of their team just a few weeks ago. It seemed like even LeBron James was fed up with him.
But now? He’s coming off of the bench. And he’s good at it. Really good at it. So good, in fact, that he’s now the front-runner for Sixth Man, according to Odds Shark.
Russel Westbrook is now the front runner at +175 to win 6th man of the year.
Let Russ cook 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZAOsLAvP5B
— Odds Shark (@OddsShark) November 10, 2022
It makes sense when you look at his numbers. He’s averaging 18.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 7.1 assists in 29 minutes per game as a reserve. His true shooting percentage is also a scorching 60%. He’s been one of the team’s lone bright spots in their 2-9 start so far.
Westbrook almost certainly won’t continue to shoot this well, but he’s going to continue to run the Lakers’ second unit while scorching benches across the league. It’s working. He’s no longer the problem anymore.
Sounds like good money.
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