The Los Angeles Lakers made sure to bring home a couple of players during their offseason, with the most notable one being Russell Westbrook.
The Lakers were able to quickly cobble up a trade to land Westbrook from the Washington Wizards in the summer’s first blockbuster move, tilting the NBA Finals odds in their favor. Westbrook is a homegrown talent who grew up cheering for the Purple and Gold and now gets an opportunity to chase a title with the iconic franchise.
It is human nature to imagine playing for your hometown team and Westbrook revealed he is no different as he believes he would have wound up playing for the Lakers at some point in his career.
“At some point,” Westbrook said during his introductory press conference. “Obviously being from L.A., you always wish that you can play for your home team and being able to do that. But that’s definitely something that always kind of circled around in my mind and maybe one day. But I always would come back and be like that probably won’t happen, but I just kind of waited to see if that would ever happen but now we’re here and I’m gonna take full advantage of it.”
Westbrook’s family is incredibly happy to have him back in Southern California and so are Lakers fans who have always dreamed of seeing the electric guard play for L.A. It is a full-circle moment for Westbrook, who was not the most heavily recruited player in high school but now finds himself on the team widely expected to capture another championship.
It remains to be seen how Westbrook will look alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but there is no doubt that he raises the ceiling for the Lakers during the upcoming 2021-22 season. Westbrook could very well be the reason why the Lakers are hoisting banner No. 18 next June.
Oscar Robertson believes Russell Westbrook should have won MVP again
Westbrook is an undeniable talent and a triple-double machine, having once again accomplished the historic feat of averaging a triple-double during the regular season in 2020-21. Oscar Robertson knows a thing or two about recording triple-doubles and the NBA legend believes Westbrook should have come away with another MVP after his productive season.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
