Russell Westbrookthe passage with the Los Angeles Lakers was removed from very best, to say the least. And whereas Westbrook is sort of two years away from donning the purple and gold, the previous MVP let Lakers followers have it throughout the Denver Nuggets win 127-102 final night time.
Halfway via a dominant second half during which Denver outscored Los Angeles 70-39, Westbrook hit one three-pointer, turned to the group and shouted, “Growth, bitch!” “.
It was Westbrook’s solely triple of the night time, however he was in any other case efficient in 24 minutes of play; Off the bench, he had 14 factors, 7 rebounds, 11 assists and a steal.
Saturday’s huge win as a member of the Nuggets was Westbrook’s sixth sport towards the Lakers because the staff traded him throughout the 2022-23 season. The primary 5 video games had been with the Lakers’ rivals, the Clippers, who Westbrook signed with after being traded by the Lakers to the Utah Jazz and securing a buyout with Utah.
Russell Westbrook’s tenuous previous with the Lakers
Westbrook was drafted fourth total in 2008 by the Seattle SuperSonics, who would turn out to be the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder earlier than Westbrook’s rookie season. He discovered nice success in OKC, the place he received the NBA’s Most Invaluable Participant award in 2017 and earned seven All-NBA alternatives in 11 seasons.
After brief stints with the Houston Rockets and Washington Wizards, Westbrook, a Lengthy Seaside native who attended UCLA, returned to Los Angeles through a commerce from Washington to the Lakers.
This transfer, which was reportedly closely pushed by LeBron James, didn’t go in addition to the Lakers had hoped. Westbrook was closely and harshly criticized for his play, and the Lakers missed the playoffs.
As Westbrook started the next season with the Lakers, he got here off the bench for the primary time in over a decade. Nevertheless, the staff’s efficiency leaves a lot to be desired, and Westbrook was in the end dealt earlier than the commerce deadline.
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Whereas it is nonetheless potential there are exhausting emotions, the Lakers and Westbrook fared comparatively nicely after the commerce; Los Angeles has turn out to be top-of-the-line groups within the NBA and reached the Western Convention Finals for the primary time since profitable a championship in 2020. For his half, Westbrook has discovered his groove with the Clippers, though playoff success eluded him and his new staff. following accidents to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
This previous offseason, Westbrook landed a $4 million participant choice earlier than being traded to the Jazz for a second time. He was shortly waived by the Jazz, paving the way in which for him to affix three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets on a minimal two-year contract.
To this point with Denver, Westbrook is averaging 11.3 factors, 4.4 rebounds and 6.2 assists in practically 25 minutes per sport. Moreover, his three-point share (35.8%) is at present the best mark of his profession.
Westbrook and the Nuggets subsequent meet the Lakers, who’ve misplaced 13 of the final 14 to Denver, on February 22.
