Russell Westbrook May Actually Be ‘Russell Westbrick’ After Video Goes Viral of Him Shooting Airballs and Bricks for 2 Minutes
Los Angeles Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook has three popular nicknames: Brodie, Russ, and Mr. Triple Double. The 2016-17 MVP is one of the best players in NBA history, which is why he was named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. Westbrook is the NBA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles, and he’s averaged a triple-double for an entire season four times.
However, the UCLA product is also one of the most erratic and inefficient players in NBA history. He’s been a turnover machine since the 2014-15 season, averaging over 4.0 per game each campaign, and he’s a career 43.8% shooter from the field and 30.5% shooter from beyond the arc. Westbrook’s abysmal shooting numbers have caused some fans on NBA Twitter to call him “Russell Westbrick,” a harsh nickname for an all-time great.
However, that nickname may be warranted after a video went viral showing Westbrook shooting airballs and bricks for two straight minutes.
Russell Westbrook has shot a lot of bricks with the Lakers
A Twitter video showing Westbrook air balling and bricking shots for two minutes went viral recently. In his first season with the Lakers, the nine-time All-Star is shooting 44.4% from the field, 29.8% from beyond the arc, and 65.3% from the free-throw line.
Westbrook has never been an efficient shooter or scorer. However, he’s been air balling and bricking shots regularly this season. The future Hall of Famer has shot below 30.0% overall four times this campaign. He even has two games of shooting below 20.0%.
Westbrook has the fourth-worst 3-point shooting percentage and the third-worst free-throw shooting percentage in 2021-22. His awful shooting stroke is one of the main reasons the Lakers are only in seventh place in the Western Conference standings, as his propensity to turn the ball over.
Russell Westbrook leads NBA in turnovers
Westbrook has turned the ball over 184 times in 41 games. The two-time scoring champion has 12 games this season where he’s turned it over six or more times. On October 27, Westbrook had 10 turnovers against his old team, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Lakers average 15.2 turnovers per game, 26th in the NBA. Westbrook turns the ball over 4.5 times per contest and shoots a woeful 37.1% from three to nine feet of the basket. No matter how spectacular LeBron James is, the Lakers can’t be successful if their starting point guard is that turnover-prone and putrid near the rim.
It’s unfortunate since he’s a passionate and explosive player, but Westbrook has fully earned the “Russell Westbrick” nickname. Opposing defenses smile every time he shoots a jumper because they know they likely got a defensive stop, and Westbrook has been so bad with the Lakers that the franchise reportedly knows they made a mistake trading for him.
Lakers reportedly showed covert interest in discussing a possible Russ trade
According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Lakers showed covert interest in discussing a possible Westbrook trade with rival executives earlier this season. Inside the organization, there is some recognition that the Westbrook trade with the Washington Wizards hasn’t gone as planned.
According to Statmuse, Westbrook has a plus-minus of -33 this season. No team is finishing with a winning record if their starting floor general has a negative plus-minus rating. The Lakers can try to trade Westbrook before the trade deadline, but there probably isn’t a team interested in the California native.
After all, what team wants to trade for a turnover-prone, unsteady point guard who can’t shoot?
