If nine-time NBA All-Star and former MVP Russell Westbrook needed any additional motivation heading into the league’s restart later this month, he may have found it courtesy of a new “Top 100” players list.
Westbrook is averaging 27.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game in a brilliant debut season in Houston. Westbrook’s 47.4% shooting clip is the best of his 12-year NBA career, and his scoring and efficiency metrics have progressively improved as the season has moved along.
In February, which was the last complete month of NBA games, Westbrook was very nearly the Western Conference Player of the Month.
Nonetheless, in a story posted Saturday, Bleacher Report‘s Andy Bailey and Dan Favale ranked Westbrook as the NBA’s No. 22 overall player. In an Instagram comment beneath a post showing his ranking, Westbrook let out an extended laugh at his relatively low placement on the list.
Bleacher Report ranked their top 100 players and Russell Westbrook had something to say about it😂 pic.twitter.com/cEjmeOymcg
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) July 11, 2020
Westbrook is not currently with his Houston teammates at the NBA’s “bubble” site in Florida for the restart, but he is expected to arrive soon.
Westbrook and the Rockets (40-24) will enter the restart tied for the No. 5 spot in the tightly packed Western Conference, and they can finish anywhere between No. 2 and No. 7 when the regular season concludes. They have already clinched their spot in the 2020 NBA playoffs.
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