Russell Westbrook

Who is Russell Westbrook?

Russell Westbrook III is a prolific American basketball player who plays for the ‘Houston Rockets’ of the ‘NBA.’ Hailing from a sports family, he started exhibiting his skills when he was just a kid. From winning the biggest honors while playing in college, to becoming one of the most prominent ‘NBA’ stars, Russell has come a long way. He began his ‘NBA’ career in 2008 when he was drafted by the ‘Seattle SuperSonics,’ which was later renamed ‘Oklahoma City Thunder.’ Trained strenuously by his father Russell Westbrook Sr., Russell Jr. dedicated most of his childhood to the game. Russell’s talent and skills made him an integral part of the American basketball team, and he represented the United States in the 2010 ‘FIBA World Championship’ and the 2012 ‘Olympics.’ In both these tournaments, he helped his team win a gold medal. In 2017, Westbrook became the second player in basketball history to secure the most number of triple doubles in a particular ‘NBA’ season. Apart from his basketball career, Russell has also launched an eye-gear brand, and continues to display his interest in the fashion world.

NBA

Drafted by Oklahoma, Russell Westbrook showed a glimpse of his talent in 2009 when he scored his very first triple double. Eventually, he became part of the season’s ‘NBA All Rookie First Team,’ and was placed at number four in the line-up. During Oklahoma’s second season, his team got eliminated in the first round after losing to ‘Los Angeles Lakers.’ However, Russell cemented his place in the team with an average of 16.1 points per game.

In the 2011 ‘Western Conference Tournament,’ he played a big role in helping his team reach the finals. In the same year, the coaches included him in the team for the 2012 ‘NBA All Star Game.’ Thanks to his exuberant performance, his team reached the finals for the first time since the franchise was reintroduced. Westbrook ended the 2012-2013 season with an average of 23.2 points, 7.4 assists, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game, which was magnificent.

Due to a knee injury, he missed the first two games of the 2013-14 season. In his comeback match against ‘New York Knicks,’ he scored 14 points and helped his team achieve an impressive win. Russell went for arthroscopic surgery soon after the game, and made a comeback in February 2014. The surgery broke his long-term streak of never missing a game for his team in a regular season.

In a match against ‘New Orleans Pelicans’ in 2015, Westbrook broke his previous career high record of 45 points by scoring 48 points. In the same year, he returned to the ‘All Star Tournament’ after a long hiatus due to surgeries. He scored 41 points and was later named the ‘All Star MVP.’ Thereafter, he went on a dream run in which he scored six triple doubles in just eight games. Although his team was eliminated from the playoffs, Westbrook played incredibly well and averaged 28 points per game.

In the 2015-16 season, he scored 18 triple doubles, a record which was previously held by Magic Johnson. He also achieved 18 triple doubles. In the 2016-17 season, Westbrook managed to achieve his third career 50 point triple doubles, and became the first player in ‘NBA’ history to achieve the feat.