Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook gets a lot of flak from fans and media alike for his shortcomings on the court. Despite undoubtedly being a future Hall of Famer, a lot of focus goes on his struggles shooting the ball as well as his turnovers.
But for as much criticism as he receives, all of Westbrook’s teammates speak very highly of him. Whether it was his time in Oklahoma City, Washington, Houston or with the Lakers, those who played with Westbrook have nothing but positive things to say about the guard and that includes Austin Reaves.
Most of Reaves’ first two seasons in the NBA were spent alongside Westbrook and in his appearance on the All The Smoke Podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Reaves called Westbrook one of the best teammates he has ever had:
“Yeah, he’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever had. As a person, you can’t get much better. I got COVID like December of my rookie year in Minnesota, I was stuck in Minnesota for like seven days so it was rough. But he reached out like three or four times, asked me if I needed anything, offered to send me stuff, whatever I needed. So as a person you couldn’t get better and same as a teammate. He was always empowering everybody to really be better and do better and want more. Like you said he gets a bad rap and I don’t really understand why.”
Because of Westbrook’s intensity and sometimes demonstrative demeanor on the court, many assume that he is an angry person off of it as well, but that is simply not the case. As Reaves spoke to, Westbrook is someone who truly cares about his teammates and pushes everyone to be better. That work ethic rubs off and knowing someone has your back like Westbrook does can push a player to keep going and do more.
The on-court criticisms of Westbrook are usually pretty fair, but that says nothing about who he is as a person and teammate. Reaves is simply the latest to speak to this point.
Austin Reaves explains why he chose to go undrafted and sign with Lakers
Of course, Reaves joined the Lakers in the same offseason as Westbrook did, coming in as an undrafted player originally on a two-way deal. But things could’ve been different had he been drafted which was a possibility.
Reaves explained that he could’ve been drafted by the Detroit Pistons but he and his agent basically declined that opportunity, preferring to go undrafted so he could choose the situation that gave him the best opportunity for a roster spot and role he could thrive in.
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