Clippers' Russell Westbrook draws 'most underrated' label from Kenny Smith

The perception and reality of Russell Westbrook's impact of the Clippers cannot be more different, if Kenny Smith is to be believed.

The reputation hit Russell Westbrook took during his stint with the Los Angeles Lakers must be studied by future generations; that's how damaging his one-and-a-half year stint with the Purple and Gold was to how fans perceived Westbrook's value. It has now reached the point where fans are convinced that Westbrook is simply a losing player, and that he's not a particularly needle-moving player for the Los Angeles Clippers.

However, the pendulum may have swung too far towards the negative spectrum; after all, at his best, Westbrook can still be a high-impact player who gives his teams a great chance to win on any given night. He just needed the right environment and personnel around him so he could play more to his strengths, which he's done in his short stint thus far with the Clippers.

Now, according to two-time NBA champion and TNT's Inside the NBA analyst Kenny Smith, Russell Westbrook is now the “most underrated player” in the league.

“Somebody asked me, ‘who's the most underrated basketball player in the NBA?' And I said Russell Westbrook. I think he's the most underrated basketball player right now,” Smith said, via ClutchPoints Twitter.

Kenny Smith does have a point, especially if one defines being ‘underrated' as the disparity between how fans perceive their impact on the court and their real-life impact for their teams. For the Clippers, Russell Westbrook, indeed, has been everything they had hoped for and more when they picked him up off the buyout market back in February.

Westbrook, after a disastrous stint with the Lakers, took no time at all to find his groove with the Clippers, making the most of the team's much-better spacing. Moreover, with the Clippers, he didn't need to assume a huge offensive burden; for the Lakers, everyone expected the world out of him due to his salary as well as the cost it took for the Purple and Gold to acquire his services.

On Tuesday night, Russell Westbrook showed that he still has plenty of gas left in the tank, dropping 18 points, six rebounds, and seven assists as the Clippers took home their third win of the season.