RUSSELL WESTBROOK: A WINNER? BY NEARLY EVERY MEASURE!!!
It is a widely held and disseminated notion, that a winner is best defined, as a champion.
In order to be truly considered a winner, a championship pedigree is imperative.
You gotta win it all!!
With respect to individual competition, this makes sense.
Rarely are those who finish second saluted, or even remembered.
In the 1976 Men’s Olympic Decathlon, who was the runner-up to the USA’s Bruce (now Caitlyn) Jenner?
(It was Guido Kratschmer of West Germany…nod to Google).
When Rafa Nadel won his 20th Grand Slam men’s singles championship to tie Roger Federer’s record, whom did he defeat?
(He annihilated Novak Djokovic, the world’s №1 player, in last October’s French Open Final, 6–0, 6–2, 7–5; it was his 13th title on the red clay of Roland Garros).
When was the only time in his storied wrestling career did the legendary Dan Gable finish second — lose — and who beat him?
(The Waterloo, IA native was undefeated in 64 prep matches and posted a 117–1 record at Iowa State University, the lone defeat coming at the hands of the University of Washington’s Larry Owings in the 1970 NCAA Finals, his senior year.
Gable went on to win the gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, without surrendering a single point).
Viewing championships through the prism of team sports offers a vastly different perspective.
Why not ask — were they able to answer — the following iconic and luminescent sports figures?
Nap Lajoie;
Jerome Iginla;
Tracy McGrady;
Randy Moss;
Warren Moon;
Marcel Dionne;
John Stockton;
Bruce Smith;
Fran Tarkenton;
LaDainian Tomlinson;
Ernie Banks;
John Hannah;
Tony Gwynn;
Allen Iverson;
Brad Park;
Ken Griffey Jr.;
Charles Barkley;
Dan Marino;
Anthony Munoz;
Dick Butkus;
Ted Williams;
Karl Malone;
Barry Bonds;
Barry Sanders;
Chris Paul;
or
Ty Cobb.
(Patrick Ewing’s name is not included, because, at least, he won the ‘Whole Enchilada’ at Georgetown, in 1984).
Each of the aforementioned twenty-seven personalities exited from their sterling, Hall-of-Fame-worthy careers and rode off into the sunset…empty-handed.
Most — if not all — had full pockets, but no championship hardware.
Reaching for the brass ring and grabbing air.
“Yeah, but he never won the whole thing.”
Does that diminish them or their individual achievements, within the team context?
Russell Westbrook will make his 11th career playoff appearance Sunday (May 23) in Philadelphia.
When the eighth-seeded Washington Wizards arrive in Philly to play the top-seeded 76ers in Game 1 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, they’ll do so with an edge they haven’t had for some time.
They’ll have the NBA’s second-leading scorer in Bradley Beal (31.3 ppg), a point guard extraordinaire who tore it up down the stretch of the regular season, averaging a triple-double (22.2 pts; 11.5 rebounds; 11.7 assts) to help power the Wizards into playoff contention.
The team will be armed with the knowledge that they have lost two consecutive games just once since April 5.
But beyond that, Washington feels different, according to its players and coaches, because Westbrook has helped whip the team into a frenzy, demanding more consistent intensity and tougher all-around play.
“We never get tired.”
Anyone with fingers and a thumb on the pulse of the Wizards’ fortunes, knows that the 32-year-old Westbrook’s name comes up as a foundational piece of nearly every upbeat aspect of this season’s edition.
The team chemistry that allowed them to survive a horrific 17–32 start, was forged by long and dreary January days, slogging through positive coronavirus tests — Washington had seven in all, accompanied by two weeks of mandated isolation/inactivity — and Westbrook’s boundless energy, open communication and iron-strong will.
Remarked 23-year-old teammate Rui Hachimura, “He always tells me, ‘We never get tired.’ It’s actually — it’s crazy.
It’s different. For him to be like that, it really helps the team bring the energy. Last year, we didn’t have that. I’ve never seen a person like that, of course.”
He further expounded.
“He was always yelling at me, but it was good. Because for me, it was really hard to bring energy.
I was still kind of in my rookie year; I was trying to get to know everybody because there were a lot of new guys.
From the beginning, he would just come out to practice like — I don’t know what he was saying, but he was always shouting.
It actually made it easy to get along with him and he made it easier for the team, for us to get along.
Because he’s so vocal, I guess that’s what it is.
You talk about everything.
He’s straight up. So realizing you can be like that, it helps.”
Leadership.
Coach Scott Brooks, who shares a deep, trusting bond with Westbrook that stretches back 12 years to their time together in Oklahoma City, echoed the sentiment.
“He brings that professionalism, that excellence about doing your job every day and don’t make excuses.
You play through everything, within reason, but you always commit to the game…I think he brings that to our young guys.
You know, some of our veteran guys, they already have their foundation, [and] we can tweak it.
But the young guys, what is he going to bring to them?
In 10 years, they’re going to be thankful they had Russell for the first four, five years of their career.”
His metronomic preparation and his unwavering mental strength and toughness are enviable qualities, not lost on anybody, including Beal.
The 27-year-old credits Westbrook with helping his growth as a leader.
When he was debating the pros and cons of playing in the regular season finale with a strained left hamstring, he ultimately opted in, because he recognized the importance of his teammates seeing him on the floor.
Beal learned this from Westbrook.
“He always wants to win.
And it may come off as nasty and ugly sometimes, but that’s him,” Beal observed.
“…But he doesn’t demand something out of anybody else that he doesn’t expect out of himself, and I respect that.
For him to do that night in and night out on a consistent basis, it propelled me. It propelled my game.
Because I’ve seen times where he’s hurt…but he’s out there, he’s competing, he’s still going hard and he’s still getting triple-doubles, he’s still leading, he’s still talking to his teammates.
So it’s very motivational, in a lot of ways, to see a man be able to channel that type of energy night in and night out.”
Westbrook’s ferocious will has been on display all year, but Brooks revisited a midseason meeting during which Westbrook told the team that they weren’t enduring all of these hardships for nothing.
They would make the playoffs in the end.
Period.
Russell Westbrook averaged a triple-double this season (22.2 ppg; 11.5 reb; 11.7 assts) for the fourth time in five years.
He eclipsed the great Oscar Robertson with his 182nd career triple-double earlier this month to become the NBA’s all-time leader in that category.
(The Big O — 181; Magic — 138; Jason Kidd — 107; LeBron — 99; Wilt — 78; Bird — 59; Harden — 58; Jokic — 56; and Fat Lever — 43 round out the top 10).
In 2016-’17, Westbrook became the first player since the 6’5” Robertson in 1961-’62 to average a triple-double for an entire season.
He was the league’s MVP that year.
He’s made that part of his game look easy.
But like Iverson, he remains a polarizing player.
The rap?
A ball-dominant style, a fickle jump shot, spotty free throw shooter, high turnover rate, an occasionally brusque demeanor, and most of all, zero championships.
And although triple-doubles may represent empty calories these days — as compared to days gone by — Westbrook stands only 6’3” and is the only player in league history, at that size or smaller, to average at least 10 rebounds a game over a full campaign.
Will, athleticism and competitive drive are Westbrook hallmarks.
He is a generational talent.
One title would cement his legacy, and forever change the narrative.
Fair?
Or unfair?
[Editor’s Note: This piece was written by Mr. Kaplan in May 2021.]
