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Russell Westbrook was open and forthcoming during a 17-minute exit interview with the media after the Oklahoma City Thunder were eliminated 4-1 in a first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Asked if there is anything he'd be looking to refine beyond his jump shot, the Thunder star was thorough:
“Everything. I always tell you that because I know I can do everything at a high level, so I always find ways to make sure that I'm able to do that,” said Westbrook, according to ESPN's Royce Young. “And that's one thing about me, is that — and I think a lot of times, whether it's you guys or whoever it is, people across the world, when you do so much, you've got so much s**t you're doing throughout a game, whether it's defending, rebounding, passing. There used to be conversations if I was a ballhog, but now I lead the league in assists for the past three years or whatever it is, that's getting squashed out.
“So now the conversation is about shooting. Next year I'm going to become a better shooter. After that it'll be probably, f***, my left foot is bigger than my right one. Who knows. But to me that's why I know when you do so much with the game, got so much impact on the game, I expect a lot out of myself, put a lot of pressure on myself to become a very, very great player because I know that I'm able to do so much throughout a game to impact the game, impact winning.
“So that's why, back to your point, I don't really care what people say, what they think about me, because it doesn't really matter. I know what I'm able to do and know what I'm able to do at a high level every night, and nobody else can do what I can do on a night in, night out basis, and I truly believe that. If they could, I'm pretty sure they would. But I know for a fact that nobody can.”
Whether it is his inefficient shooting from 2, 3 or even the free-throw line, Westbrook's numbers have been beyond measure statistically, but they haven't really reflected into winning basketball, as the Thunder are still 0-3 in the playoffs since he was given the reins as the sole franchise player.
Westbrook shot a subpar 29% from deep this season, below his already poor career percentage, but he's taking more shots from distance despite his usual offseason goal of having better shot selection.
However, what has been more concerning is his foul shooting has dwindled from a sparkling 84.5% to a feeble 65.6%, a decline that also includes the number of trips to the line he has made over the course of the years, going from 10.4 in his 2016-17 MVP season to a mere 6.2 by the end of the 2018-19 season.
