When you say that they look up to someone, this can be meant literally when it is a basketball player. Russell Westbrook is one of those people. His name is not as popular as Kobe Bryant or LeBron James, but he is a man on a mission on the court. And he has undoubtedly made a name for himself as one of the greats over the past few years.
Russell began his basketball career at Leuzinger High School in Lawndale, California. At that time, he was just six feet tall – which is considered too small for a basketball player – and weighed only 140 pounds. So it is no surprise that he did not get his chance until his junior year. In his senior year, when he had grown 3 inches to his adult height of 1.82 meters, he led his team to a 25-4 record. In the process, he collected a personal record average of 25.1 points, 2.3 assists, 8.7 rebounds, and 3.1 steals. The breakdown of these statistics resulted in eight individual games in which he scored 30 or more points, 14 doubles, and a personal record of 51 points in January 2006.
During his college years, he played for the UCLA Bruins, where he was mainly used as a replacement for Darren Collison and as an off-bench energy player. In his second season, Darren was already injured and he took the opportunity to show off his skills. Westbrook finished the season with a record average of 12.7 points, 4.7 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals. He won the All-Pac 10 Defensive Player of the Year and joined the All-Pac 10 Third Team. Throughout his time with the Bruins, he wore the number 0 jersey.
Russell Westbrook, who was selected as 4th overall, was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 2008 NBA Draft on July 5, 2008, after giving up his remaining two years at UCLA. The Supersonics moved their base to Oklahoma and changed their name to Oklahoma City Thunders six days after the draft. In addition to his team awards, Russell continued to make a name for himself. On March 2, 2009, he achieved a triple-double, his first-ever. Russell became the fourth-best NBA Rookie of the Year and also made it into the NBA All-Rookie First Team. In April 2010, he continued his career with a career-high of 16 assists, with his team more than doubling its victories from the previous season.
Since then, Russell Westbrook has become a legend in his own right. Since 2011, he has been a member of the NBA All-Star Team five times and has been named MVP twice. Rusell is definitely one of the most athletic point guards in NBA history.
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Russell Westbrook Wife, Son, Brother, Girlfriend, Gay, Height
Russell was born on November 12, 1988, the son of Russell Jr. and Shannon Westbrook. He has only one sibling – a brother named Raynard. Not much is known about Russell’s younger brother, but they are inseparable. He also lost his best friend, Khelcey Barrs III, who died of an enlarged heart during a pickup game in 2004. In honor of his friend, Russell wears a bangle and knee socks with the engraved symbol “KB3”.
Russell Westbrook is also married to the love of his life in Nina Westbrook, 1989 (formerly Earl). They met in college and have been together ever since. They walked down the aisle on August 29, 2015. Nina understands and supports Russell’s career because she is no stranger to it herself. She also played professional basketball in school and can show her own achievements.
On May 16, 2017, they welcomed their first child, Noah Russell Westbrook, into the world. As far as the media’s rumor mill is concerned, Russell has had a clean record so far. The stories about extramarital affairs and homosexual relationships that plagued his colleagues have somehow missed him. Apart from rumors about his profession, Russell is “press-free”.
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His Net worth, Height
Russell Westbrook has played exclusively for the Oklahoma City Thunders throughout his NBA career. This is a rarity in the NBA and speaks for his outstanding contribution to the team. In April 2016, the Thunders extended Russell’s contract with a three-year $85.7 million contract. On September 29, 2017, the two-time MVP signed what is currently the largest guaranteed contract in NBA history. This five-year contract is worth 205 million dollars and begins in the 2018-2019 season.
Russell made it to the Forbes 2017 list of the 100 highest-paid athletes in the world and reached an enviable 13th place. Russell Westbrook is currently worth approximately $50 million with an average annual salary of $28.5 million. However, we can expect his net worth to increase dramatically with his new contract.