Despite his decline in production over the past couple of seasons, Russell Westbrook's legacy as one of the greatest point guards to ever play in the NBA is secure. And he added yet another feather to his floor general cap despite the Los Angeles Lakers' 121-104 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night.
It may have ended in a losing effort, but Westbrook was able to add 10 more assists to his name. As a result, he is now tenth on the all-time assists list, having surpassed Gary Payton's 8,966 career tally with 8,972 dimes of his own. After such a feat, Westbrook could not help but reminisce of a younger version of himself who could never have imagined being one of the greatest when all is said and done.
“If somebody had told me 15 years ago, 20 years ago that you'd be top 10 in assists, I'd look at them like they was crazy,” Westbrook said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Russell Westbrook then hammered home that he is extremely grateful for everything; hearing his name mentioned alongside Gary Payton as one of the all-time great point guards doesn't happen to just anyone.
“In the NBA, never dreamt of being in this position, nor getting to the point to where I'm next to some of the greats. I'm just truly grateful and thankful for an opportunity to keep playing at the highest level and I don't take any of that for granted,” Westbrook added.
These days, the discussion surrounding Russell Westbrook among fans and pundits alike mostly revolves around his shooting struggles, playoff viability, and his exorbitant salary relative to current production. Nevertheless, fans should learn not to take Westbrook's greatness for granted much like the former MVP has done.
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