The opening shot fixes on a stoic, contemplative Russell Westbrook, sitting on the team charter bus alone. No headphones, no mobile device, just a player alone with his thoughts. Bodies move around him getting situated; teammates, coaches, media, etc. Nothing seems to effect or distract him. It’s as if he’s in a separate dimension.
You’ve seen this movie before. Take the plot for “Gattaca”, sprinkle in some “Hoop Dreams”, a dash of “He Got Game”. Set it in a post-Rapture America, and you have “Russell”; a post-modern take on how ambition, the driving force of a capitalist society, can be deconstructed as undesirable.
Act I
The protagonist of the story is named Russell. The odds are stacked against him from the start. Born and raised in South Central California, he was protected from the trappings that tend to get so many of the young men in his immediate environment, thanks in large part to the closeness of his family.
“I would say Russell grew up the majority of his life, probably in South Central,” says Reggie Morris, his coach at Leuzinger High School in Lawndale, Calif. “Yeah, he grew up in a rough part [of town] but he had his mom and his dad and they always steered him straight.” – Dime Magazine, 2010
Rising Actcion: Still, he was largely unheralded as a basketball recruit out of high school, despite playing in a hotbed of basketball talent. Entering his senior season, he was a 5’9″ shooting guard and wasn’t offered a scholarship to a top-flight school. His best offers were from the likes of Loyola Marymount University and the University of San Diego). It wasn’t until a relatively small growth spurt to 6’2″ coincided with the local university (UCLA) coming off a Final Four championship appearance needed depth at point guard after unexpectedly losing their starter (Jordan Farmar) to the NBA, that he got a scholarship offer he felt he deserved.
He steps foot onto the campus of one of the most storied basketball programs in 2006 as almost an afterthought. He spends his freshman season coming off the bench and learning the point guard position for a rigid defensive-minded coach, Ben Howland. he was a bench player for a team that made a repeat appearance in the NCAA Championship game. Westbrook earned a reputation as a defensive player with tremendous natural athleticism, as well as one of the hardest workers on the team.
Westbrook enters his sophomore season as a starter, yet still an unknown commodity. He shares the backcourt with future first round pick Darren Collison, giving UCLA the fastest backcourt in the nation, without truly deciding who the actual point guard is. But that’s not the big story for the 2007-08 Bruins. Instead it would be incoming freshman Kevin Love, the 2007 Gatorade Men’s Basketball player of the year who would take a stranglehold of the Bruins headlines. Westbrook is viewed as a liability.
He wasn’t a true point guard. He wasn’t a top-level recruit like UCLA was used to having. He was a guy who Howland would have to hide, not feature. You want the ball in either Collison’s, Love’s, Josh Shipp’s, or Luc Richard Mbah a Moute’s hands (yes, that Luc Richard).
Not Russell’s.
Act II
Westbrook exceeds all expectations his sophomore year, something that would become a recurring theme in his saga. He, his roommate Love, and Collison would lead the Bruins on a return trip to the NCAA Championship game in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year. Westbrook averages 12.7 points and 4 assists, and earned Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year, All Pac-10 Defense First Team, and All-Pac 10 Third Team honors.
But the larger awards were reserved for Love, who averaged 17.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, and had 23 double-doubles. Oscar Robertson nominee, All-American First Team, Pac-10 Player of the Year, Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, and All Pac-10 First Team were awarded to the true freshman, who by comparison was given nothing but praise by the fans and media since announcing his decision to come to UCLA. When Love announced after the season that he would be turning pro, it was greeted as a matter of fact that it was the right decision.
Rising Action: Yet on the biggest stage, the Final Four game against Memphis, it was Westbrook, not Love, who led the Bruins with 22 points on 10-19 shooting and 2 steals. Westbrook spurred a late-game comeback before ultimately fell short to the Derrick Rose (remember that name) led Memphis Tigers, 78-63.
Love was held to 12 points and 9 rebounds. Kevin didn’t come up big when it mattered most. Kevin left Russell hanging.
Act III
When Westbrook announced he too would turn pro, he was in no way considered a sure thing. He would be an NBA point guard, but had only begun to learn the position over one-year-and-a-half at UCLA. He was projected as a top fifteen pick, maybe even as high as 7 overall. But not much more than that.
Coach Howland, however, endorsed Westbrook’s decision to turn pro, saying “Russell Westbrook has worked very, very hard to put himself in a position where he could be a first-round draft pick. I haven’t had a player who improved more in one year, ever, than Russell.”
Sam Presti, GM for the then-Seattle Supersonics, must have liked what he heard from Howland, combined with what he saw from Westbrook, because he selected Westbrook at number 4, one spot ahead of his roommate Love, in what even the most optimistic scouts saw as a gamble.
“Russell Westbrook is, in our opinion, the best perimeter defender in the draft. We had him targeted from early in the year. He is a competitor, and he is the ultimate teammate. Obviously he comes from a winning background at UCLA.” – Sam Presti, Seattle Times, 2008
“A lot of people seem shocked the Sonics went with Westbrook this high, but I’m not. His combination of length, athleticism, motor and defensive toughness makes him an ideal fit with Kevin Durant. Westbrook needs to improve offensively, but at worst he is a defensive stopper. And he could become one of the best point guards in the league down the road. I had him rated as the fourth-best prospect in the draft, right behind Rose, Beasley and Mayo.” – Chad Ford, ESPN Insider, 2008
Others weren’t so high on Westbrook’s potential.
“They might have some explaining to do,” NBA analyst Mark Jackson, Seattle Times 2008
“It doesn’t make sense,” “Seattle will look back on this and realize they made a big, big mistake. Love would have been fantastic for them.” - college basketball analyst Dick Vitale, Seattle Times 2008
Rising Action: Westbrook never played a game for Seattle, as the Sonics were in the throws of an ugly relocation process to Oklahoma City. They already had a franchise player, whose name, ironically, was “Kevin”. Despite being the fourth overall pick in the draft, Westbrook’s main responsibility for the newly christened Thunder would be to not mess up, continuing to learn to play the point, and most importantly, stay out of the way and let Kevin Durant do his thing.
Act IV
Westbrook averaged 15 points, 5 assists, and just a shade under 5 rebounds a game his rookie season, enough for him to steal two first place votes for Rookie of the Year away from the eventual winner, Derrick Rose (again, remember that name). He was named to the All-NBA Rookie First Team, alongside Rose, and ahead of his former roommate Kevin Love.
Rising Action: Fast-forward to the 2009-10 playoffs. The Thunder improved by 27 games, entering the playoffs as the Western Conference 8-seed . Durant leads the NBA in scoring (30 ppg), and Westbrook puts up numbers almost identical to his rookie campaign. For the first time since his freshman year in high school, Westbrook’s numbers didn’t improve significantly.
Conspiracy theorists point to Oklahoma City drafting James Harden (another Pac-10 combo guard) with the third overall pick a year after Westbrook, then trading for former Virginia Commonwealth University point guard Eric Maynor may have planted seeds of doubt in Westbrook’s mind.
The Thunder are matched up against the defending world champion Los Angeles Lakers. The first playoff appearance for the franchise in Oklahoma. This is a homecoming of sorts for Westbrook, the L.A. native. Also, he’s back on the big stage for the first time as a pro.
Look at his numbers through the first four games of the series:
Game 1 – 24 points, 10-16 shooting, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals (L 79-87)
Game 2 – 19 points, 5-10 shooting, 4 assists, 8 rebounds, 1 steal (L 92-95)
Game 3 – 27 points, 11-21 shooting, 4 assists, 8 rebounds, 1 steal (W 101-96)
Game 4 – 18 points, 6-11 shooting, 6 assists, 8 rebounds (W 110-89)
When the buzzer sounded at the end of Game 4, not only did the Lakers know the Thunder weren’t going quietly into the night, but that in order to win the series, they had to find a way to control Westbrook.
As for Durant, his scoring average dipped five points below his regular season average (from 30 to 25), and his shooting percentage dropped 12 points (from .476 to .350). Once again, Westbrook was left hanging by an alleged superstar named Kevin.
Which leads us to Game 5.
Westbrook and Durant Game 5 – 32 points, 9-27 shooting, 9 assists, 8 rebounds, 11 turnovers (L 87-111)
Game 5 of the 2010 Thunder playoff run was the first time America sees both young Thunder stars at their worst. The man, the myth, the Black Mamba himself Kobe Bryant acknowledged that Russell, not Kevin, was the only thing standing between his Lakers and advancing to the second round, and decided to take the defensive assignment for himself. For the first time, Russell was being recognized by not only the best players in the game, but also the national media. Bryant’s defense was suffocating – he crowded Westbrook, forced errant passes (8 turnovers), and stole the ball twice. Russell must have been flattered.Meanwhile, Durant continued to do time in Ron Artest’s mobile prison, hitting only 5 shots, and turning the ball over 3 times himself.
Game 5 was also the moment our protagonist had decided enough was enough!
Never again would Russell wait for a teammate who was supposed to be better than him to perform when the stakes were at their highest. Never again would he wait for another man to be the man.
The Thunder would go on to lose the series on a last second tip in by Pau Gasol in one of those games that was an instant classic, but since so many more classic/crazy basketball moments have happened between then and now, we have already forgotten it. Both Westbrook and Durant carried the Thunder behind a combined 47 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds.
It was Russell who took and hit the key buckets down the stretch of the close game; a pull up jumper over Derek Fisher with 3:49 left; an and-1 of of his missed jumper at 3:09, where he tracked down the ball, snatched it in front of Artest, and on the fly took it up with his left over Lamar Odom, who was actually moving quickly for once, but by comparison to Westbrook might as well been in slow motion; and it was Russell who took the last-second desperation three-pointer…
and missed…
Act V
Spurred by the sting of the playoff exit, Russell spends the entire summer doing everything he can to make himself the best player he can possibly be. Damn Kevin, damn, Presti, damn Brooks. He spent six days a week working out at Santa Monica High School alongside the Kevin ‘the former roommate, and Derrick Rose, the former Final Four opponent. The three players also won a gold medal with Team USA at the FIBA Championships. All three made the All-Star game (Westbrook and Love as first-timers, Rose for the second time).
Westbrook raised his scoring average 5.8 points (21.9). He had two triple-doubles in his first two NBA seasons; he recorded four this season. He made the All-NBA Second Team.
The 2010-11 season saw Russell turn into a legitimate star. Just not as big a star as his workout partners. Love won NBA’s Most Improved Player, and Rose won league Most Valuable Player.
Russell saw himself on par, if not better than those players. rose was being heralded for the same thing Westbrook would take criticism for; a combo guard playing point who looked to score first, score second, and possibly pass third.
Rising Action: Even with the heightened recognition Russell still played like he felt under appreciated. He was taking more shots (17 per game) as well as taking more chances with the ball (career-high 3.9 turnovers per game). He played with a chip on his shoulder, and while people close to the team spun yarn about Russell doing the things necessary to win, the average fan saw a point guard who rarely looked for teammates, especially the tall one named Kevin.
He also developed a reputation for “being volatile, and prone to getting angry”, per ESPN’s Chris Broussard.
The perception picked up steam as the playoffs started. The Thunder entered the NBA’s second season as the 4-seed in the west, matched up against the Denver Nuggets.The Thunder finished the series in 5 games. Westbrook took 30 shots to get 30 points in the only game the Thunder lost that series.
“You can’t play great basketball every time. His heart and determination are always in the right spot. That’s all I care about with Russell,” Thunder Coach Brooks – Yahoo Sports, 2011
“Just another game,” Westbrook – Yahoo Sports, 2011
“He’s a star, too,” Durant said. “You know, he’s an All-Star, too…”
Now, it’s the third quarter of Game 2, the Thunder are down in the series 0-1, and are in position to steal Game 2 from Dallas late in the third quarter. Russell calls a play, doesn’t get the look he wanted, tries driving against a Jason Kidd-Shawn Marion double team, and turns the ball over for the fourth time of the game.
Brooks subs him out of the game, slaps Westbrook on his backside and tells him something about being careful with the ball. And Westbrook goes off.
Westbrook turned around and glared at the court. Then, when Brooks walked toward him and made a comment, Westbrook yelled, “I’m trying to run the [expletive] play, man.”
Westbrook continued yelling on the bench for roughly a minute — saying, “Tell them to run the [expletive] play,” according to the source — prompting assistant coach Maurice Cheeks to console him as play continued. – Chris Broussard, ESPN 2011
Westbrook never got back into the game, and his backup Eric Maynor replaced him at point guard, doing nothing more spectacular than simply holding on to the ball, as the Thunder won 106-100.
Westbrook became the tragic figure he was destined to be at the point in the story.
Watching Westbrook stare down Brooks, then take out his frustrations further on Cheeks, all the while with a scowl on his face that translated on television as “How dare you take me out of the game? Do you not see I’m the only one not afraid out there? It’s not my fault the play broke down, it’s your golden boy who keeps tiptoeing around the free-throw line instead of flashing aggressively to get the ball! The hell is wrong with ya’ll!”
Falling Action: The Thunder won the game, but have been in flux ever since. they returned to Oklahoma City for Game 3. They had no cohesion in the 93-87 loss. Westbrook played gunned them back into the game after being down double-digits, but the deficit was created by his 7 turnovers, and Durant settling for long jumper instead of attacking the basket.
Game 4, the Thunder were up 15 points with 5 minutes left to play, James Harden fouled out, and the bottom fell out. The Mavs would rally back behind Dirk Nowitzki, and the Thunder played like the kids they were, lacking composure and executing poorly as they gave the lead away.
Nothing epitomized the lack of readiness for this level of basketball more than Kevin Durant’s three-point attempt on the last possession where he and Westbrook executed a halfhearted pick and roll that left Durant 30 feet from the basket, while Westbrook looked back at him over his left shoulder just watching as he rose off the ground to shoot, only to have the ball slammed back into his hand by Shawn Marion.
Horrible sequence, horrible finish, horrible defining moment to the Thunder season.
Resolution: Back on the bus. The team is all aboard, and they are ready to depart the stadium. Their 2010-11 season is all but officially over.
Russell sits alone, looking straight ahead. Exhausted from the overtime loss, and exhausted from the criticism that was sure to continue. Eyes looking forward, facing insurmountable odds, while most people doubted him.
Just like it’s always been.
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