Russ is a nice guy
When defending Westbrook’s character, I would often point fans in the direction of this episode of the Woj Podcast. The episode features former NBA head coach and ESPN NBA announcer, Jeff Van Gundy.
Van Gundy tells a story about catching a flight to Oklahoma City, by chance, he sat next to one of Westbrook’s neighbors. Van Gundy went on to describe how Russell’s neighbor painted Westbrook in a completely different light than the public persecution of him. Van Gundy stated the unnamed neighbor was refusive of the public’s impression of Westbrook. The neighbor told Van Gundy about how great Russell and his wife Nina were with the children in the neighborhood. Revealing that they would often knock on the door, asking if Westbrook could play, which he happily obliged. If you don’t take Van Gundy’s word for it, check out two feel good Russ stories below.
Becoming the cool dad
Thunder pre- and post-game game host for the WWLS The Sports Animal Bobby Thompson dubbed a personal interaction he had with Westbrook his favorite moment, check out the fun dad story below:
“It occurred after his rookie or 2nd year. My son who was six at the time saw him at the mall. He asked if he could go get his autograph? I told him no because it was the off-season. I wasn’t going to be “that guy.” My son was not too happy, so I took him down to the food court. While we were having a slice of pizza, someone walked up and put their hands on my shoulders. I turned around, and it was Russ. He looked down and said, “Bobby how are you doing?” I introduced my son to him, Russ high-fived him, and I was the cool dad again!”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BzzAJ_klmDN/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
MVP on and off the hardwood
In addition to his favorite on-court memory, Gannon Mendez also pulled back the curtain on Russ, by sharing some of his personal encounters with Westbrook:
“Russell would always say his wife’s meatballs are the best. So my mother insisted on Russ having some of ours. When he got done eating them, you could tell in his eyes he loved it, and my mother said: “say it!” And he said with a laugh these are better than his wife’s. He had a great sense of humor. He was also so giving. Russ would tell us during the winter to take our food truck down to the Homeless shelters and feed as many people as we could a few times a month. Then at the end of the year, we would also do a house party for him, and the guys and Russell would pay for everything (homeless food and party food). He was so tough in public but so kind and easy-going when we would talk one on one.”
Westbrook is such a pulverizing figure on the hardwood, many often mistake his on-court demeanor, for who he is in his everyday life. The above quote illustrates who Westbrook truly is as a person, rather than the narrative that has followed him throughout much of his career.