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Westbrook has represented the United States on their national team twice, winning gold medals in the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Olympics. Learn 50 things about this athlete.
1. Russell Westbrook was born November 12, 1988 in Long Beach, California to parents Russell and Shannon.
2. Soon after, his family moved to Hawthorne, California where Russell attended high school at Leuzinger High.
3. Westbrook was a late bloomer: he entered his freshman year at 5'8''and 140 pounds.
4. He wasn't one of the starting five until his junior season.
5. However, these factors didn't curb Russell's ambitions to play college ball. His desire was fueled by his father's constant attention and dedication to grooming Russell as a player. Every day, Russell Sr. would spend time with his son working on his shooting form.
6. Finally, during his sophomore season, Russell began to grow into his oversized hands and size-14 feet.
7. His growth spurt brought him all the way up to 6'3'' by his senior year.
8. That season, Westbrook really began to catch the eye of college scouts. He scored 51 points in a victory at Carson his senior year, one of eight times he exceeded 30 that season. He averaged 25.1 points and 8.7 rebounds, leading little-known Leuzinger to the Division I-AA quarterfinals.
9. Russell signed to UCLA following his senior season and was thrust into a crowded backcourt that included established guards Afflalo, Collison and Josh Shipp.
10. Westbrook averaged nine minutes a game during an erratic freshman season.
11. In the off season, Russell dedicated himself to developing his game. He lifted weights and played pickup games with the NBA players who work out at UCLA during the summer.
12. In the mornings he'd run sand dunes in Manhattan Beach with his younger brother, Raynard.
13. In the evenings, he and his father would go to a nearby park where Westbrook would shoot jumpers until darkness obscured the rim.
14. The extra work elevated Westbrook's game: Not only was he UCLA's fourth-leading scorer at 12.1 points per game, but he also assumed the role of defensive stopper.
15. During his sophomore season, Russell helped lead the Bruins to the final four before losing to Memphis. Following that loss, Russell declared that he would be entering the 2008 NBA draft.
16. Russell was a bit of an unknown during pre-draft scouting with projections of where he could be drafted spanning all over the lottery.
17. When draft night finally arrived Russell was selected with the 4th overall pick by the Seattle Supersonics, who relocated to Oklahoma City shortly after.
18. He is also a four-time All-NBA Second Team member.
19. Westbrook has also represented the United States on their national team twice, winning gold medals in the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Olympics.
20. Westbrook was selected 4th overall in the 2008 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics (later known as the Oklahoma City Thunder due to sale of team and relocation). He signed with the team on July 5, 2008.
21. On March 2, 2009 Westbrook recorded his first career triple double with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
22. He was the first rookie since Chris Paul and the third rookie in Sonics/Thunder franchise history (Art Harris and Gary Payton) to record a triple-double.
23. He was named to the NBA's All-Rookie First Team.
24. Prior to the start of the 2013-14 season, Westbrook had a second surgery on his right knee, which set back his return to basketball.
25. Despite reports that he would miss the first two weeks of the regular season, Westbrook would miss only the first two games.
26. After scoring 38 points in a 89-106 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2014-15 season opener, Westbrook suffered a small fracture of the second metacarpal in his right hand the following game against the Los Angeles Clippers and subsequently missed 14 games with the injury.
27. He joined Kevin Durant on the sidelines after Durant fractured his right foot during preseason and was ruled out for 6-8 weeks. With the pair both inactive for the start of the season, the Thunder dropped to a 4-12 record prior to Westbrook's return on November 28 against the New York Knicks.
28. On January 16, 2015, Westbrook recorded his ninth career triple-double with 17 points, 15 rebounds, and a career-high 17 assists in a 127-115 win over the Golden State Warriors, becoming just the fifth person in NBA history to record a stat line of 15-15-15 in a game.
29. After tying a career-high 45 points on February 4, 2015 in a 102-91 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, Westbrook broke that mark to score a new career-high of 48 points two days later, this time in a 113-116 loss to the Pelicans.
30. After being injured the previous year, Westbrook returned to the All-Star game in 2015.
31. On March 4, Westbrook set career-highs with 49 points and 16 rebounds, and added 10 assists for his fourth consecutive triple-double, helping the Thunder defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 123-118 in overtime. He subsequently became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1989 to have four consecutive triple-doubles, and the first since Jordan that year to have back-to-back triple-doubles with at least 40 points. It was also the most points by any player with a triple-double since Larry Bird also scored 49 in 1992.
32. Westbrook later played for the 2012 Summer Olympic team in London, where he also won a gold medal.
33. Westbrook is a 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) point guard who has established himself as one of the most athletic players in NBA history.
34. He attacks the basket relentlessly with an incredible ability to finish at the rim.
35. With his opponents' knowledge of Westbrook's will to attack the rim, he will frequently pull up for the medium range jump shot.
36. Westbrook creates good scoring opportunities for his teammates resulting in him averaging 7.0 assists per game for his career.
37. He is also one of the best rebounding guards in the league, averaging 5.1 rebounds for his career.
38. Add to that, his willingness to defend the opposing team's best guard, Westbrook is widely recognized as one of the best all-around guards in the NBA.
39. A weakness cited in Westbrook's game is his three-point shooting.
40. He averages 30.1% on three-point field goal attempts for his career.
41. In October 2012, Westbrook signed with the Jordan Brand.
42. His first commercial was with the Jordan Brand and Champs in which a high school athlete purchased Jordan gear from Champs and transformed into Westbrook and won a state championship.
43. In November 2013, Westbrook signed with Kings and Jaxs Boxer Briefs. He stated that, "I have always loved fashion so working with Kings & Jaxs was a natural fit as we both have a fearless and creative approach to style."
44. Westbrook has also appeared in numerous commercials for Subway.
45. Westbrook is a Christian.
46. He has one younger brother, Raynard.
47. Westbrook wears a "KB3" wristband and has "KB3" on his sneakers in honor of his childhood friend Khelcey Barrs.
48. He is known for his outlandish style off the court and has even been called a "fashion icon".
49. On August 29, 2015, Westbrook married his college sweetheart, Nina Earl.
50. Westbrook was a childhood friend of Khelcey Barrs, a talented young player who had been attracting interest from major college basketball schools as a 6-foot-6, 200 pound high school sophomore. However, Barrs died from cardiomegaly after playing a series of late night basketball games in 2004.
Source: facebook.com/russellwestbrook, Wikipedia.org
