Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook III (born November 12, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

In May 2004, Barrs died from an enlarged heart during a pick-up game.

After Barrs' death, Westbrook seemed even more determined to excel in honor of his best friend's memory.

Westbrook never fails to wear a "KB3" wristband in loving memory of his best friend.

Westbrook entered Leuzinger High School as a point guard who stood only 5ft 8in tall and weighed only 140 lb, although he did have large (size 14) feet.

He did not start on his school's varsity team until his junior year, and did not receive his first college recruiting letter until the summer before his senior year.

Westbrook grew to his adult height of 6ft 3in that same summer.

During his senior year, Westbrook averaged 25.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.1 steals, and 2.3 assists and helped lead them to a 25–4 record.

That same season, he recorded 14 double-doubles, scored 30 or more points on eight separate occasions, and registered a career-best 51 points at Carson on January 6, 2006.

Westbrook initially did not attract much attention from top college basketball programs.

After his height increased, contributing to him averaging more than 25 points per game and becoming a solid college basketball prospect, coach Ben Howland recruited him to play for the UCLA Bruins.

Westbrook declined other offers while waiting for the Bruins' Jordan Farmar to leave early for the NBA and free up a scholarship.

Westbrook wore number 0 throughout his career at the University of California, Los Angeles.

As a freshman in 2006–07, he played as a backup to Darren Collison and was primarily used as a defender and energy player off the bench.

Westbrook averaged 3.4 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 0.7 assists on the year.

During the off-season, he trained extensively, both in the weight room and in the gym, where he faced NBA veterans who visited Los Angeles.

The next season, Collison was injured and Westbrook was named the starter.

He finished the season averaging 12.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.6 steals.

At the end of the year, he was named All-Pac-10 Third Team and won the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year.

UCLA advanced to the Final Four during each of Westbrook's seasons with the team.

In 2007, they lost to eventual national champion Florida, 76–66 and in 2008, they lost 78–63 to Memphis.

A point guard, Westbrook made his NBA debut in 2008 and became a star as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

He has played for five NBA teams.

Westbrook played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins and earned third-team all-conference honors in the Pac-10.

He was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics, who then relocated to Oklahoma City that same week.

Westbrook played for the Thunder for 11 seasons.

Westbrook has represented the United States national team twice, winning gold medals in the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Olympics.

Russell Westbrook III was born in Long Beach, California, to Russell Westbrook Jr. and Shannon Horton.

He has a younger brother named Raynard.

Growing up in Hawthorne, Westbrook and his best friend Khelcey Barrs III had hopes of going to UCLA and playing together.

At age 16, Barrs was already known to have excellent basketball skills and received college scholarship offers.

He appeared in the NBA Finals as a member of the Thunder in 2012, losing to the Miami Heat.

He is also a nine-time All-NBA Team member; a two-time NBA scoring leader, having led the league in 2014–15 and 2016–17; a three-time NBA assists leader; and a back-to-back NBA All-Star Game MVP.

Westbrook is one of two players in NBA history to average a triple-double for a season.

He has achieved that feat four times and is the all-time NBA leader in career triple-doubles.

Westbrook is known for his ability to score near the basket, his rebounding, his durability, and his intensity as a competitor.

A member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, Westbrook is a nine-time NBA All-Star and earned the NBA Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) for the 2016–17 season.

In 2019, Westbrook was traded to the Houston Rockets, playing one season for the organization before being traded again to the Washington Wizards in 2020.

After a season in Washington, he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2021.

Following two relatively disappointing seasons with the Lakers, Westbrook was traded to the Utah Jazz in 2023 and was bought out of his contract, joining the Los Angeles Clippers later in the 2022–23 season.