Russell Westbrook Articles - Page 69

After another season that ended in a first round exit, the Oklahoma City Thunder must do what it takes to improve around Russell Westbrook and Paul George. That may require some truly difficult decisions that shakes up the makeup of their roster. The main hurdle that could prevent the Thunder from being able to make […]

The general consensus is that Kevin Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors during the summer of 2016 because he no longer wanted to play with Russell Westbrook. However, former Thunder big man Kendrick Perkins says that that simply isn’t true. While he would not elaborate all that much on the […]

The Golden State Warriors won Game 1 of their second-round Western Conference playoff series against the Houston Rockets on Sunday afternoon, but not without controversy. Following the Rockets’ loss, James Harden criticized the officiating, saying that he just wants a “fair chance” from the referees. Harden was referring to the several times during the contest […]

There isn’t a star player in the NBA who is currently under more scrutiny than Russell Westbrook. Not LeBron James. Not Kevin Durant. Not Kyrie Irving. Nobody. Following a third straight first-round playoff exit, many are now questioning just how good Westbrook really is and whether or not the Oklahoma City Thunder can actually win […]

This wasn’t what Paul George had in mind when he re-signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder last summer. When Kevin Durant left OKC for the Warriors, the Thunder failed to get past the first round of the playoffs in 2017. After adding George and Carmelo Anthony last season, they lost in the first round to […]

Oklahoma City Thunder veteran guard Raymond Felton says the criticism star point guard Russell Westbrook gets is “stupid” and he doesn’t like it one bit. Westbrook has been heavily criticized his entire career, but after what happened in the playoffs against Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers, the noise around Westbrook has been even […]

Russell Westbrook was posed with a question about his series-long duel with Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard after the latter capped a 4-1 first-round win with a game-winning 37-footer and a 50-point performance to boot, putting the Oklahoma City Thunder away in five games: “It doesn’t change much, man, honestly. If you want […]

Russell Westbrook is one of the best point guards in today’s NBA, but he struggled with accuracy in the first round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs. Simply put, a lot of his shots weren’t falling in. As a result, he took a fair amount of criticism from fans and members of the media. The Trail […]

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George spoke about his connection with Russell Westbrook as the two leaders of this team, giving a small window into how his personality is often misperceived in front of the media: “I think Russ is honestly just as normal as anybody else. I think anything he does is just amplified, […]

Russell Westbrook has received an onslaught of criticism following (and during) a 4-1 first-round series loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. The Oklahoma City Thunder guard is well aware it exists, and narrowed it down to being just a part of what comes with fame and success: “No, I don’t, man. When you do so […]

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 […]

Amid rumors of a potential fallout after three one-and-done results in the last three postseasons, Oklahoma City Thunder point man Russell Westbrook was asked about his relationship with head coach Billy Donovan: “It’s been good,” said Westbrook during an end-of-season press conference, according to ESPN’s Royce Young. “Me personally, I’ve never had a problem with […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder were once again eliminated from the playoffs in the first round and had nothing more to show for it than a massive war of words with the Portland Trail Blazers, as well as a visible rift with the local media. According to Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, the Thunder have grown […]

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan is not exactly in the most indispensable of positions right now following his team’s heart-breaking series loss at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night. Rumors have been circling pertaining to the Thunder front office considering a possible replacement for Donovan, with the 53-year-old posing […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder ended their season in disappointment yet again on Tuesday night, as they suffered a Game 5 defeat at the hands of Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers. Barely a couple of days into the conclusion of another rather forgettable year, and already the whispers pertaining to the potential firing of […]

The mere concept of trading Russell Westbrook might be too fraught for the Oklahoma City Thunder to fathom. No player in the league, with the ever notable exception of Damian Lillard, is more synonymous with his team than the Thunder’s superstar point guard. He was a reckless rookie for the Thunder’s 3-29 start during their […]

Portland Trail Blazers Damian Lillard has gained a new fan in Skip Bayless. Bayless boldly proclaimed Lillard is a better all-around player than Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook during the April 24 episode of FOX’s “Skip and Shannon: Undisputed.”  "All Damian Lillard did last night was prove once again, maybe once and for […]

The NBA and Game of Thrones, perhaps the two popular dramas currently playing on televisions near you, careened into one another via Fox Sports’ Jason Whitlock on an April 24 episode of Speak For Yourself. In the segment, Whitlock explored the recently completed Oklahoma City Thunder with Russell Westbrook versus the Portland Trail Blazers in […]

If you are questioning Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook’s ability to lead a team, well, join the club. What has gone from just an informal discussion in fan circles has now turned into an open debate among NBA front offices, as many are legitimately wondering whether or not a club led by Westbrook can […]

Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook has never been under more scrutiny than now after he lost in the first round of the playoffs for the third straight year, this time bowing out to the Portland Trail Blazers in five games. To make matters worse, Westbrook had a miserable series, shooting 36 percent from the […]

It’s safe to say Terry Stotts was feeling pretty, pretty good after Game 5. On the postgame podium following his team’s epic comeback victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Portland Trail Blazers coach celebrated moving onto the second round by trolling Russell Westbrook. When it came Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman’s turn to ask a question, […]

The Portland Trail Blazers are advancing into the second round of the Western Conference Playoffs thanks to Damian Lillard’s 37-foot buzzer beater in Tuesday night’s Game 5 matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Portland’s series with the Thunder was filled with several interesting storylines, including a not-so-silent rivalry between Lillard and Russell Westbrook. At times, […]

Portland Trail Blazers big man Jusuf Nurkic decided to wear a unique tee shirt after Tuesday night’s Game 5 matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Knowing that Russell Westbrook was struggling to find a shooting rhythm in the series, Nurkic suited up in a custom shirt that read “Got bricks? Next question.” Annnd just got […]

Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Russell Westbrook marked his 10th playoffs triple-double on Tuesday night with another tremendous performance from the former MVP (29 points, 11 rebounds, 14 assists), and in the process, moved to fourth on the all-time playoffs triple-double list. Congrats to @russwest44 of the @okcthunder for moving up to 4th on the #NBAPlayoffs […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder are in dire straits. The Thunder are fighting for their playoff lives after falling down to the Portland Trail Blazers 3-1 in the their first round Western Conference Playoff series. After winning Game 3 on the strength of some solid performances from Paul George and Russell Westbrook, the Thunder’s two big […]

The Philadelphia 76ers’ appearance in the 2001 NBA Finals is viewed as a testament to the greatness of Allen Iverson more than anything else. He averaged 32.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 2.4 steals per game during that fabled playoff run, dragging his defense-first team not just through two seven-game series in the Eastern […]

Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder now find themselves in the brink of elimination, as the Portland Trail Blazers lead the series 3-1 after a Game 4 win on Sunday night. However, fans can expect Westbrook to come out swinging, as he’s put up scorching numbers in his last three elimination games. Last three […]

Russell Westbrook has made more headlines this offseason by his peculiar use of his “next question” phrase in postgame press conferences. Now, this is not news to anyone who has followed the Oklahoma City Thunder in the last few seasons, knowing the long-storied tiff the All-Star guard has had with Berry Tramel, a sports columnist […]

TNT analyst Charles Barkley weighed in on the Russell Westbrook “next-question”-palooza during a Sunday segment of their broadcast of the NBA playoffs. The Oklahoma City Thunder went down into a 3-1 hole to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, but went an even deeper hole in the eyes of the Hall of Famer. Westbrook continued […]

After again giving the reporter the cold shoulder treatment on Saturday night, Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Russell Westbrook was gracious enough to respond to The Oklahoman’s Berry Tramel following his team’s 111-98 Game 4 defeat against the Portland Trail Blazers: Russell Westbrook didn't go with "next question" tonight. "uhhhhh…. that's a good question. Uhhhh…. not […]

Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook wasn’t concerned about his woeful shooting night in a Game 4 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, nor by his shot selection throughout the game — one that included a heavy dose of mid-range jump shots, which mostly clanked off the rim. Blazers point man Damian Lillard has been […]

The most intriguing aspect of the series between the Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder is the star-studded matchup between point guards Damian Lillard and Russell Westbrook. It seems NBA Hall of Famer and analyst Charles Barkley has seen enough to know it has looked a bit one-sided thus far. There is no question […]

Saying that Russell Westbrook had a poor game against the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 4 of their first round series would be an understatement. The Oklahoma City Thunder star finished with just 14 points in the game, far from his usual standards. To make matters worse, he just scored one point in the second […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder raced off to an early 15-9 start during the first quarter of their first-round playoff matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers. Two of those points came off a customary midrange pull-up jumper from guard Russell Westbrook over Damian Lillard who then promptly stared down the Blazers bench as he galloped backward […]

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has become one of the most outspoken figures in professional sports while never shying away from speaking out on topics both related and unrelated to the NBA. This time around, Kerr chimed in with his two cents regarding Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook and his tendency […]

Portland Trail Blazers star point guard Damian Lillard and Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Russell Westbrook have been going at it in the first round of the playoffs. Every time Westbrook scores on Lillard in the post, the former MVP does his patented rock the baby celebration. When Lillard scores on Westbrook, the Blazers guard gives […]

Damian Lillard put together another amazing performance for the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night. So much so, that his third quarter explosion against the Oklahoma City Thunder turned out to be the best scoring quarters in playoff history, dating back to 2001. Damian Lillard erupted for 25 points in the third quarter last night, […]

Following his team’s 120-108 Game 3 victory against the Portland Trail Blazers, Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Russell Westrbook did not appear to be in the best of moods during the post-game press conference. As a matter of fact, the former MVP winner decided to completely ignore one specific reporter during the presser. The Thunder may […]

For the last two games, Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard has been outplaying Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook in their best-of-seven first round playoff series. In Game 3, Westbrook tried to turn the tables around. OKC’s All-Star guard wanted to send a message to Lillard and the Blazers that the series is not yet […]