The Russell Westbrook experiment is off to a precarious start in Denver. The Nuggets signed the point guard to a 2-year, $6,772,731 contract this offseason in a move that puzzled many. The Nuggets faced the Los Angeles Clippers, Westbrook’s former team, on Saturday, and his old teammates had some nice words for the struggling former superstar. Although the Russell Westbrook stats have been rough to start the season, his former teammate James Harden called Westbrook a future Hall of Famer after the Clippers vs Nuggets game on Saturday.
Clippers Star Calls Westbrook Future Hall of Famer
Westbrook Stats to Start the Season
The Westbrook stats so far this season have been terrible. In his debut with the Nuggets, he scored only six points while shooting 2-of-10 from the field and going 1-of-6 from three-point range. Then, in the Clippers vs Nuggets game, he was even worse. In 19 minutes of playing time against the Clippers, Westbrook didn’t make a single one of his eight field goal attempts and ended the game with two points, two assists, and one rebound.
Since leaving the Thunder after the 2018-19 season, Westbrook has bounced around the league like a pinball. He hasn’t played a full two seasons with the same team and has seen his statistics gradually decrease along with his playing time. When playing with LeBron James and the Lakers a couple of years ago, he wasn’t keen towards taking a role off the bench, but now he has accepted his place as a reserve in the NBA.
Terance Mann on Russell Westbrook: "One of the best teammates I ever had… looking forward to that competitive nature tomorrow that he's going to bring to the game" pic.twitter.com/6LkLNUpVbD
— Law Murray 🏟️ (@LawMurrayTheNU) October 25, 2024
The Respect of James Harden
Even though Westbrook left the Clippers this offseason, his former teammates still have a lot of respect for him. After the game, Harden backed Westbrook and told The Athletic,
“When it’s all said and done, we’ll be in the Hall of Fame. That’s a story right there. I’m happy he’s happy, and he’s playing well. He’s doing his thing here in Denver. So it’s always happiness when we see each other.”
You could say Harden is just trying to back his old teammate. Harden and Westbrook reached the NBA Finals together as young budding stars in the league with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Then they teamed up with the Clippers last season. The reality is Harden isn’t wrong. Both he and Westbrook have been MVPs of the league and are, without a doubt, going to be Hall-of-Famers. Basketball Reference currently has Harden listed with a 99.99% probability of making the Hall and Westbrook at 99.93%.
One of the greatest Russell Westbrook games! (2017)
50 PTS
16 REB
10 AST
1 STL
53% FG (17/32)
100% FT (11/11) pic.twitter.com/SCl95zJCiZ— ThrowbackHoops (@ThrowbackHoops) October 5, 2024
Westbrook Stats Don’t Tell Everything
Even though Westbrook is headed to the Hall of Fame, the end of his career hasn’t been the prettiest. From his first season away from the Thunder, he has slowly seen his counting stats and respect around the league dwindle. He went from averaging 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, and seven assists per game in the 2019-20 season to only averaging 11.1 points, five rebounds, and 4.5 assists last season.
Hopefully, Westbrook will be remembered more for the triple-doubles, the MVP, and for his loyalty to the Thunder franchise. Even as Father Time catches up with him, it is nice to see his peers and teammates standing up for what he once was.
