“The Moment” is a weekly feature running every Friday showcasing the NBA’s best highlight of the week.
Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Russell Westbrook is known for a lot of things: His speed, agility and athleticism; his trademark scowl and mean-mug; his occasionally prickly nature with the media and other players; and his wacky fashion sense.
Add social activist and community leader to that list.
Westbrook was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame Thursday night and used the platform to speak about unity among all peoples within the state of Oklahoma and the United States as whole, imploring himself and everyone else to try to “be better.”
A full transcript of Westbrook’s speech was transcribed by The Oklahoman.
Obviously responding to the division that’s been apparent in the U.S. in the wake of the presidential election, Westbrook demonstrated a side of him that most fans likely have never seen. Mostly portrayed as a fiercely independent warrior on the court and a bit of a goofball off it, this gives a peek that, like every athlete, there’s a lot more to him than just what he can do with a basketball in his hands.
Of course, Westbrook likely wouldn’t be given this kind of opportunity to speak had he not been inducted into Oklahoma’s state hall of fame to begin with, and he probably wouldn’t have been a potential nominee had he not signed that three-year extension to remain with the Thunder in the summer shortly after Kevin Durant left for Oakland.
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, who was on hand at the induction ceremony Thursday to introduce Westbrook, praised the five-time all-star’s loyalty and even took an indirect shot at Durant’s choice to jump ship – “I’m not here to try to bash anyone that’s not here…”
Even though Jordan doesn’t have any great affiliation to the state of Oklahoma, nor with Westbrook other than admiring the way he plays, it’s very fitting that he would introduce Westbrook. His stance on loyalty is nothing new as he criticized LeBron James for joining forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami in 2010.
The numbers Westbrook is putting up this season should be very familiar to Jordan as well as the 31.8 points, 9.8 assists and 9.5 rebounds per game line is very reminiscent of the 32.5, 8.0 and 8.0 line “His Airness” put up in 1988-89.
It’s only 12 games in, but with the way Westbrook has been playing this season there’s no good reason to doubt he can keep up the level of productivity he’s shown, and with the assist and rebound figures being what they are, it’s conceivable he could make a run at averaging a triple-double over an entire season, becoming just the second player in NBA history to do so – Oscar Robertson in 1961-62 did it averaging 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists.
Last Saturday the NBA released a top-28 dunks video celebrating Westbrook’s 28th birthday. And just this week, he spiked a massive slam on Houston Rockets Centre Clint Capela’s face (The video seen at the top of this post) sealing a Thunder victory.
So whether trying to be a conduit for community activism or just simply destroying fools out on the basketball court, there can be no mistake about it. We are experiencing peak Westbrook. Enjoy the ride.