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Why You Couldn’t Ask For A Better Teammate Than Russell Westbrook

There is this specific myth that has been hanging around the NBA for a while now. The myth of Russell Westbrook being a bad teammate.

Granted, one could make that assumption when watching Westbrook on the court. A fierce competitor, who often seems annoyed with teammates, officials or himself. A player who gives his all, every minute he’s on the court, and expects his teammates to do the same. But this does not mean Westbrook is a bad teammate. It’s the opposite.

Not only was Russ a key factor for Oklahoma City to re-sign fellow All-Star Paul George, he’s also helping younger players and role players on the team when they have questions or problems.

Terrance Ferguson’s Russell Westbrook story, for example, easily explains why Westbrook indeed is a amazing teammate and leader. At the start of the season, Ferguson was struggling badly with his shot, going 1 of 14 from 3-point range. The Thunder’s sophmore had a league-worst .9 PER for players with over 100 minutes. A major slump like that obviously is way tougher for younger players with less experience like Ferguson, than it is for more experienced players.

Russell Westbrook noticed that T-Ferg was questioning himself after a game and gave him a call in the middle of the night.

When Ferguson revealed, that he was on his way to the gym, to practice his shots, Westbrook immediately told him that he’ll be there in a minute as well. It was midnight!

Per newsok.com:

It was midnight, Terrance Ferguson was on his way to the gym after a tough loss, and he got a call from Russell Westbrook.

“Where you at?” Westbrook asked.

Ferguson told him, and Westbrook responded, “OK, I’ll be there in 20.”

Ferguson was surprised that an All-Star player like Westbrook took such genuine interest in helping him, especially at that time of day (or better, night!). He said:

 

“He could have went out to dinner,” Ferguson said, “he could have went home after a bad game, he could have done anything. But it was like, ‘I’m going to meet you at the gym, we’re going to talk, we’re going to get through this together.’ … That means a lot.”

Not only that, it also seems to have worked. In the two games after their nightly practice, Ferguson has shot 4 of 7 from three point land, helping the Thunder extend their winning streak to five games.