The hot takes from the NBA Draft prospects have been pouring in this week and even top prospect Victor Wembanyama had one.
In a recent interview, Wembanyama said that his favorite player growing up was actually Russell Westbrook. Though he admitted that he was simply a player he remembered well, not necessarily someone he idolized.
“I remember at some point I was a big fan of Westbrook at OKC. But I didn’t have like one big idol,” Wembanyama said.
Nevertheless, fans were stunned that Wembanyama picked Westbrook considering that several other top prospects have also named Westbrook as their favorite player growing up as well.
Only people that disrespect Russ is the media. The people who haven’t played at a high level or couldn’t score 2 points in HS.
His peers and the players that watched him know he’s an all time great. https://t.co/Uw6pRv0jS7
— Coach DJ Johnson ⚾️ (@DabiasQJ_05) June 22, 2023
“wHaT iS rUsS iNflUeNcE?” @KDTrey5 https://t.co/qbly1jPwOH
— Eddie Gonzalez (@bansky) June 22, 2023
All people who actually play basketball appreciate and realize what Russ actually is. The analytical twitter nerds think he’s useless cause he’s not a great 3pt shooter https://t.co/bS0BvlipVD
— 3️⃣8️⃣ (@38Nate_) June 22, 2023
There’s definitely a lot of anti-Russ sentiment in sports media due to his lack of titles and declining production. But over the course of the entire 2010s, it’s pretty easy to make the case that Russell Westbrook really was among the best players of the decade.
Given how many players have been growing up with the 2010s as their first look at NBA basketball, it’s pretty easy to understand why Westbrook stands out to so many of them.