Looks like it may be a rough offseason for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
After the Thunder were eliminated in 5 games by the Blazers, superstar Russell Westbrook talked to the media during his exit interview on Thursday. Talking for almost 17 minutes, Westbrook discussed numerous things, including the criticism that he’s received over the last couple of years, per ESPN.
“If you want to determine my career and what I’ve done over two, three games, you go ahead,” Westbrook said during his end-of-season exit interview with the media. “That don’t mean s— to me. It doesn’t. I’m going to wake up, like I told you before, three beautiful kids, I’m going to wake up and smile, be happy, enjoy my life. Doesn’t change anything about — talk about if I’m playing bad or who’s better, who’s not. I know who I am as a person, and that’s the biggest thing I can say about myself. I know who I am. I know what I’m able to do. I know my capabilities. I know what I’ve done. I know what I can and can’t do. So I’m OK with that. I’m OK with who I am. I’ll just be blessed to wake up every day and enjoy my life. The talk about — I don’t even know what talk you’re talking about, but whatever that is, you guys can keep talking about it, and I’m going to keep living my life.”
Despite winning an MVP and becoming one of the best players in the NBA, Westbrook has spent the majority of his career as one of the most polarizing players. That critique came up again with his subpar series against Portland in which he struggled with his shooting.
“There used to be conversations if I was a ball hog, but now I lead the league in assists for the past three years or whatever it is, that’s getting squashed out,” he said. “So now the conversation is about shooting. Next year I’m going to become a better shooter. After that it’ll be probably, f—, my left foot is bigger than my right one. Who knows.
“So that’s why, back to your point, I don’t really care what people say, what they think about me, because it doesn’t really matter. I know what I’m able to do and know what I’m able to do at a high level every night, and nobody else can do what I can do on a night-in, night-out basis, and I truly believe that. If they could, I’m pretty sure they would. But I know for a fact that nobody can.”
Westbrook also discussed his abrasive style, on and off the court.
“When you do so much at a high level, a lot of haters come,” Westbrook said. “That’s how life is, man. That’s life, man. When you do so much, people going to try to pull and take away and try to take that away from you. But nobody can take away from me. I’ve been blessed, and I stay prayerful, stay thankful to be able to do what I’m able to do, and nobody can ever take that away from me, regardless of what it is, how many stories are written, how many stats are put up, how many numbers are put up.”
After becoming the first player since Oscar Robertson in 1962 to average a triple-double in a season in 2017, Westbrook averaged a triple-double for a third consecutive campaign. He was asked if he had made the triple-double “passé.”
“If it’s passé, so be it,” he said. “Let somebody else do it, or try to.”
Seems like every year, Westbrook is getting criticized for something.
Flip the page to see the full interview with Westbrook.