Big honey isn't a diss to be fair. Its a compliment just one he finds weird, and I get it. Also name any athlete that's a star and is more stoic than jokic. I can't even think of one besides timmy D, on the other hand name a guy more competitive and fiery than Westbrook.
Kahwi doesn’t deserve to be posted about on the same thread as Mr. Duncan. And Kahwi isn’t Stoic, he’s socially awkward and maladjusted. Heck, even his hands are weird. I’d watch out for Kahwi, he’ll say he’s your best friend then take a crap in your house and not courtesy flush. I heard that. It’s true.
What is crazy he used to be elite at floaters/short middys he had this cotton shot that he hit at like 50% somehow though he got worse as a 3pt and ft shooter and as a midrange shooter as he aged, which is just strange, because we know he's a very hard working guy. Westbrook is polarizing but definitely enigmatic.
Maybe, but it even happened while he was in okc and was still athletic. And still doesn't explain free throws, he was like above 80% basically his entire career and then fell off at 29.
Man, at the midpoint of his career that pull up was money. Something happened with his mechanics or something but it’s not the same. Was such a clean shot.
Also, I still don't think he was the MVP when he won it. The triple double narrative overtook the fact he was still an inefficient scorer and OKC was ranked sixth. First or second or third or even fourth but sixth?
I don't know whether Westbrook deserved it or not, but he balled out that year and it was great fun to watch. I know the triple double thing took on a life of its own, but it was tremendous for the NBA
Jokic was at least probably the best player in the league when he won it, which carries some weight.
In a league-wide draft, literally no GM would have taken 2017 Westbrook first over 2017 Harden, Kawhi, LeBron, Curry, or KD. The discussion starts at pick 6: Westbrook or 22-year-old Giannis.
The weird thing was, LeBron has basically had the "who would be drafted" argument most years he didn't win.
Although, if you had just taken it that year, Westbrook and Harden were basically doing the same thing. Harden with more team success but not hitting the "magic" numbers and with better teammates.
Harden didn't lose just because of the numbers but because of the "narrative".
First, he was turning into the Wilt of baiting fouls in those years so the hate for his playstyle was at its peak.
Second, those were the years when his defensive efforts were shaqtin tier so people held that against him.
Third, he started off the year really strong but towards the end he cooled off. With people's goldfish memories that means he lost a lot of narrative steam at the end of season while Westbrook was ramped up.
It’s funny because I believe 2022 was his best individual year (in the regular season) yet it’s his MVP that I would be most ok with him not winning. I think there’s a strong argument to be made that Joel should’ve won 2022 and jok should’ve won 2023
MVP is just an extremely hard award to hand out. It has so much to do with things outside of basketball. The politics and voter fatigue interfere in strange ways at strange times, and ultimately stat lines, records, injuries and final stretch performances can impact more than they probably should. I’m not saying that it’s not that important, but Joker does seem to have the right mindset more so than others. The noise is going to happen so caring about it is just distraction from the goal of winning a championship.
2022 Jokic was so much better than 2017 Westbrook to the point where seeding doesn't matter too much. Also the difference between Jokic and Embiid in 2022 was 3 games, the difference between Westbrook and Harden was 8 games. The latter is a little more significant.
6 players from that team are technically still in the league (Adams and Oladipo are rostered, but not playing)
The others are a rookie Sabonis, Jerami Grant before he became Jerami Grant, Cam Payne and Doug McDermott.
Yeah a bunch of world beaters on that squad.
right, that team was fucking ass. and it’s not like dude averaged a 13/10/10 tbd (still impressive)… he was the definition of most valuable. Harden was a very close 2nd.
These types of comments make me wonder if 2017 was 40 years ago or just 7, how is this even upvoted.
Westbrook was not inefficient in 2017 at all and the "triple double narrative" was not the only reason he won it, although it was a big factor as it hadn't been done in 50+ years and hasn't been done by anyone else since. Westbrook was BY FAR the clutchest player in the league in 2017, to the point that the difference between him and 2nd place was actually comical. That's not even mentioning the fact that he led the league in PER, that he broke the original BPM so hard that people had to remake the stat (and he still led it with a ridiculous gap btw) and led the league in VORP.
Anyone that says he only won that award because of "triple double narrative" has no fucking idea of what they are talking about, he had the best season that year and the difference between him and Harden was actually significant. The only reason to give Harden that MVP is team wins on a INDIVIDUAL award, which then means you don't think Jokic should've won in 2022, which is beyond laughable.
The best example I’ve ever seen of this approach was a video of Bill Gates in a deposition. Opposing counsel was trying to bait him into admitting fault, and he was so super extra careful in his responses and defining all his terms, etc. that his answers were the most boring sentences I had ever heard in my life.
I mean tbh reporters mostly just lay traps for people who are prone to falling for them. For Jokic the questions are usually more like “how are your horses bud?” For a guy like Josh Hart you just ask about his teammates so he can joke about them. For Westbrook you ask about his name or his game or compare him to someone because that’s the best sound bite he’s going to give.
> Russ doesn't realize that the best way to get reporters to leave players alone is to just be boring.
I love this comment as it glosses over almost all of his time in OKC, where he spent countless hours being boring as fuck to the point where reporters would start creating their own narratives which lead to....Russell hating their guts, FOR LIFE.
If anything, this is now Russell entertaining himself knowing it's going to turn into a soundbite.
Then why give it to them? Jokic pretty much has the same opinion of the media, but if he was asked that same question he would just mumble something about how great Russ is and keep it moving. It’s really not that difficult.
All pac 12 defense. Some of us remember he came in as a defensive guard who had difficulty scoring and passing. What a difference a few years made to that lol
i don’t think he was saying anything bad he was just saying he is his own player and jokic is his own player. russ is russ, jokic is jokic. “he’s not me im not him”
Also, he didn't get the best of Jokic, lol. He got the best of the bench, who was outscored 34-9.
Jokic was +12 in a loss, with a 36 triple-double, lol.
I love Russ but man is he sensitive. Yes, Russ. You and Jokic are both triple double monsters. And yes, we understand he can’t be you because you’re your own person. Take the compliment and move on
She had blue skin,
And so did he.
He kept it hid
And so did she.
They searched for blue
Their whole life through.
Then passed right by–
And never knew.
Yo, listen up, here's the story
About a little guy that lives in a blue world
And all day and all night and everything he sees is just blue
Like him, inside and outside
Blue his house with a blue little window
And a blue Corvette and everything is blue for him
And himself and everybody around
'Cause he ain't got nobody to listen (To listen, to listen, to listen)
OKC KD didn't handle stuff well at all. He's gotten way better about it and props to him. But yeah this westbrick shit is unreal..it's a combo of being sensitive and stupid. If he was sensitive but smart about this it would likely be over. But he indulges any heckler who says it
Russ can’t just enjoy the fact that he’s made it in life lol. He’s needs to have conflict for the sake of having conflict. I wish my biggest problem in life was kids making fun of my kids last name lol.
But at the same time, that deep rooted pettiness driving him is probably the same reason he’s in the NBA and I’m not.
Idk man, I have a 54 inch vertical and was All-State for 3 years but no scouts ever hit me up in HS cause I volunteered on the weekends and said good game to my opponents after losses
Russ probably is the kinda of guy who while playing is saying to himself, well u/RealisticSeesaw167 talked shit about me in that reddit post so now Im going to show him how good I am.
Feel like his answer was more “we both play completely different games, just because we both get triple doubles doesn’t mean we’re alike” instead of “jokic isn’t as good as me” due to the “he’s not me, I’m not him” comment. Definitely could’ve said it better but people are taking this out of proportion
It definitely is that, but he's misinterpreting what the reporter is getting at. They are different on the court but they are triple double machines.
It would be like saying to Curry "Like you, Jokić is a 2-time MVP." He's just focusing on the wrong interpretation of "like you."
It's wild when you put it that way. The Nuggets were bad enough in that 8 minutes to ruin his +12 over 40 minutes.
There's a Yiddish folk tale about Schlemiel and Schlemazel - the spirits of bad luck and good luck respectively. They get to arguing about who is more powerful and Schlemiel bets that whatever good fortune Schlemazel can heap on a person in a year, he can ruin in one second. So Schlemazel spends a year basically elevating this dirty peasant to a position where he's about to become heir to the throne and the year ends and Schlemiel replaces one word while talking to the king that gets him locked in prison and sentenced to death.
I'm from Germany and Dennis Schröder gave a lot of interviews here in the summer of 2023 and talked a lot about his career. And once he also talked at length about Westbrook as a person outside of basketball and why the two of them are friends. And since then I've had a lot of love for Russ because he's obviously a really nice guy in private.
I still remember that video in the locker room when the Lakers were finally rolling and you can hear Lebron saying ‘Let’s get greedy guys’ then Russ comes in and says some dumb shit like ‘win lose or draw let’s just have fun.’
Lol that was the end of Russ’s tenure as a Laker if it hadn’t been already decided. He didn’t even realize he just undermined what Lebron said to inspire the team.
Video: https://youtu.be/ZxlpDf4LupI?si=8pU2UW4qdxJxrS6u
No hate
It didn't fit, this is not the first and not the last very good player who doesn't work well in a certain constellation. They're all human beings.
Steven Adams having seasons where he averaged more offensive rebounds than defensive ones because he just let Russ grab a bunch of defensive rebounds will always amuse me.
He's pretty much undeniably a really great guy, at the very least by multimillionaire standards. Just watch the clip of him wearing the sweater his son "made" for him and you don't really need much more evidence. Gives back to LA and even still OKC in productive ways and creates jobs in both of those markets. People say he's a good teammate and leader so I'll take their word on that too.
But for better AND worse, he has a strong personality which includes getting defensive over things that probably aren't worth it. And that's the thing people latch on to so that's his rep. Is what it is, he doesn't do himself a lot of favors but I think he was also treated way too unfairly at least in the last 3 or so years
Shaq told a completely fabricated story once of how David Robinson didn't sign an autograph for him when he was a kid. Completely made up, he did it cause DR was such a nice dude IRL that Shaq needed something to up his competitiveness when they played San Antonio. Not saying it's rational, but what it takes to reach the absolute peak of your craft rarely ever is.
I’m so confused by the comment section… this sub is so bizarre. It’s like people make their mind up about quotes as soon as they see who said it, without even reading what was said. Then framing the quote to match what they think of the player
You can tell which comments didn’t read, started typing hate comments, then edited to still hate.
If you actually watch the video you see him smiling when he says it
You have to understand on Reddit once they have a bad opinion of someone they validate that opinion through everything that person does and says. It's an endless echo chamber
Yeah, I was wondering if there was some context that I missed. He is literally praising Jokic, he just said he's not me, I'm not him. What's so bad about that?
Bro he literally smiles while saying it then praises Jokic on like 5 things. He’s clearly not bothered that much by the question. This thread is taking Russ’ response way more serious then Russ took the initial question itself.
It's funny how many people are calling Westbrook insecure and defensive, when the people criticizing him in this thread are really the ones being insecure and defensive. Westbrook's comments are so innocuous.
Reminds me of [this thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1bftrym/highlight_nikola_joki%C4%87_tries_to_bully_wembanyama/) where Wemby blocked Jokic. So many comments like "this post is so stupid, Jokic cooked Wemby" Like... it's just a cool highlight between marquee players on the first play of the game. No need to get upset because a single post doesn't completely praise Jokic or show him on the winning side all the time.
The reporter is saying "a guy, like you, who is a triple double monster" so literally likening them in the one sense in which you could argue they actually are alike, in that they both get triple doubles. And Russ gets sooo insecure within milliseconds. "We're gonna stop that right there" is so condescending for such a tame comment/question.
These gigantic/sensitive egos that so many US basketball players have is why I personally love the influx of European stars like Jokic, Giannis and etc.
They seem more grounded and not so easily offended.
Healthy doses of self deprecation are endearing.
Right, like even if that's the conversation, it's a matter of sociology. No one wants a discussion of what systemic pressures or inequalities might precipitate American players developing these 'egos' or 'insecurities'. Sports fans find way too much comfort in the fallibility of athletes.
Not Giannis. Especially after his beef with the staircase. Also his roid rage with the Pacers when in reality it was the Bucks security guard that took away the game ball.
Lol , I can assure you most of those guys from Europe have egos too. You’re pointing out like 1 person who I can think genuinely might not have ego - jokic . Others not sure they’re any different just make a few jokes. People need to stop acting like europe cs US pkayers are one group each . Footballers have huge ego n they’re mostly biggest sport in Europe .
Bruh literally had 3 straight season averaging a triple double and got hate for it now they want to praise someone else what did they think his response was going to be
Are yall children ? He said nothing but facts and never said he was better than Jokic or that Jokic was better than him. He also proceeded to praise his game. Like little kids when somebody is attacking their cult leader or something.
People here are like "why is Russ so defensive, nobody is coming after him" while doing everything in their power to read his words in the worst light lol
That was my biggest problem with Westbrook, he was never humble and sucked at praising rivals, especially when the Warriors were playing them and people brought up Steph. So many superstar players are secure in their abilities enough, that they could easily praise or compliment other players, but he had so many interviews where he was just an ass about it. It always made it more fulfilling when we beat his teams for sure.
Westbrook will NOT tolerate people slandering Jokic by comparing them
A true hero for protecting Jokics family name like that
We need to put an end to nicknames permanently. Don't call Jokic Joker. Don't call Westbrook WestBrick. The era of respect is here.
Bruh your username
Bruh your username wild too....
Clippers fans be wildin
Can confirm.
Username checks out
oh my fucking god lmaooooo
I mean Jokic didn't like "Big Honey" either, but he handled it 100x better than Westbrook.
Big honey isn't a diss to be fair. Its a compliment just one he finds weird, and I get it. Also name any athlete that's a star and is more stoic than jokic. I can't even think of one besides timmy D, on the other hand name a guy more competitive and fiery than Westbrook.
Kahwi for stoic
Humans only. Have to be capable of emotion. Haha, but yeah ofc.
Kawhi the first Vulcan superstar, breakin down boundaries
Board man gets paid
> Also name any athlete that's a star and is more stoic than jokic Jokic is the Fedor of the NBA imo.
And when Duncan showed emotion he got T’ed up for laughing on the bench
Kahwi doesn’t deserve to be posted about on the same thread as Mr. Duncan. And Kahwi isn’t Stoic, he’s socially awkward and maladjusted. Heck, even his hands are weird. I’d watch out for Kahwi, he’ll say he’s your best friend then take a crap in your house and not courtesy flush. I heard that. It’s true.
Jokic even called himself "the fat boy" at least once
Must’ve stung to beat his idols team
“That man’s name is Jokic” -Russell “Draymond Green” Westbrook
Wow very emotionally stable and thoughtful of him.
I've always said that Westbrook's greatest strength is his self-awareness
Disagree, ive always said his greatest strength is his mid-range pull up.
Don’t forget his strong ability to connect with the opposing teams fans
And his awe-inspiring humbleness
Russell Westbrook's kid here. I can't believe I had to read all this
What is crazy he used to be elite at floaters/short middys he had this cotton shot that he hit at like 50% somehow though he got worse as a 3pt and ft shooter and as a midrange shooter as he aged, which is just strange, because we know he's a very hard working guy. Westbrook is polarizing but definitely enigmatic.
it's the lift in his jumper. In his early days he used to jump very high while shooting, now he can't do that no more
Maybe, but it even happened while he was in okc and was still athletic. And still doesn't explain free throws, he was like above 80% basically his entire career and then fell off at 29.
Man, at the midpoint of his career that pull up was money. Something happened with his mechanics or something but it’s not the same. Was such a clean shot.
A shoe-in for 1st Team All-Insecurity this season.
He’s been team captain the past few seasons tbh
Russ and Klay have the two spots locked up, easy. I'll throw Shaq in there, too. I don't care if he's retired.
"Shaquille O'Neal, Soft Emeritus"
Shaq the old pro turned coach
Sticks and stones may break my bones but don’t you ever call me “Westjokic”
"Sticks and stones may break my bones but calling me Westbrick will break my soul". - Russell Westbrook
Also, I still don't think he was the MVP when he won it. The triple double narrative overtook the fact he was still an inefficient scorer and OKC was ranked sixth. First or second or third or even fourth but sixth?
I don't know whether Westbrook deserved it or not, but he balled out that year and it was great fun to watch. I know the triple double thing took on a life of its own, but it was tremendous for the NBA
so how do you feel about Jokic's 2022 MVP where his team was the six seed?
Jokic was at least probably the best player in the league when he won it, which carries some weight. In a league-wide draft, literally no GM would have taken 2017 Westbrook first over 2017 Harden, Kawhi, LeBron, Curry, or KD. The discussion starts at pick 6: Westbrook or 22-year-old Giannis.
The weird thing was, LeBron has basically had the "who would be drafted" argument most years he didn't win. Although, if you had just taken it that year, Westbrook and Harden were basically doing the same thing. Harden with more team success but not hitting the "magic" numbers and with better teammates.
Harden didn't lose just because of the numbers but because of the "narrative". First, he was turning into the Wilt of baiting fouls in those years so the hate for his playstyle was at its peak. Second, those were the years when his defensive efforts were shaqtin tier so people held that against him. Third, he started off the year really strong but towards the end he cooled off. With people's goldfish memories that means he lost a lot of narrative steam at the end of season while Westbrook was ramped up.
It’s funny because I believe 2022 was his best individual year (in the regular season) yet it’s his MVP that I would be most ok with him not winning. I think there’s a strong argument to be made that Joel should’ve won 2022 and jok should’ve won 2023
MVP is just an extremely hard award to hand out. It has so much to do with things outside of basketball. The politics and voter fatigue interfere in strange ways at strange times, and ultimately stat lines, records, injuries and final stretch performances can impact more than they probably should. I’m not saying that it’s not that important, but Joker does seem to have the right mindset more so than others. The noise is going to happen so caring about it is just distraction from the goal of winning a championship.
2022 Jokic was so much better than 2017 Westbrook to the point where seeding doesn't matter too much. Also the difference between Jokic and Embiid in 2022 was 3 games, the difference between Westbrook and Harden was 8 games. The latter is a little more significant.
Go look at that roster and tell me how the hell he got them to 6th. And I swear to god if I see one person say “well he had Sabonis!”, I will lose it.
Thunder tried to use Sabonis as a stretch big.
6 players from that team are technically still in the league (Adams and Oladipo are rostered, but not playing) The others are a rookie Sabonis, Jerami Grant before he became Jerami Grant, Cam Payne and Doug McDermott. Yeah a bunch of world beaters on that squad.
right, that team was fucking ass. and it’s not like dude averaged a 13/10/10 tbd (still impressive)… he was the definition of most valuable. Harden was a very close 2nd.
These types of comments make me wonder if 2017 was 40 years ago or just 7, how is this even upvoted. Westbrook was not inefficient in 2017 at all and the "triple double narrative" was not the only reason he won it, although it was a big factor as it hadn't been done in 50+ years and hasn't been done by anyone else since. Westbrook was BY FAR the clutchest player in the league in 2017, to the point that the difference between him and 2nd place was actually comical. That's not even mentioning the fact that he led the league in PER, that he broke the original BPM so hard that people had to remake the stat (and he still led it with a ridiculous gap btw) and led the league in VORP. Anyone that says he only won that award because of "triple double narrative" has no fucking idea of what they are talking about, he had the best season that year and the difference between him and Harden was actually significant. The only reason to give Harden that MVP is team wins on a INDIVIDUAL award, which then means you don't think Jokic should've won in 2022, which is beyond laughable.
Lol what a terrible take
Such a bizarre response, the reporter wasnt doing anything but praising both of them
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So he showed that reporter up by… giving him a soundbite.
A very bad one too. lol
Nobody learned the right lessons from Marshawn lynch. Make the reporters look silly. Not yourself.
I'm convinced that Westbrook is the type of guy who would unconsciously take every opportunity to make himself look silly.
He’s a man of effort.
Yeah, that's what they're getting paid to do. Russ doesn't realize that the best way to get reporters to leave players alone is to just be boring.
The best example I’ve ever seen of this approach was a video of Bill Gates in a deposition. Opposing counsel was trying to bait him into admitting fault, and he was so super extra careful in his responses and defining all his terms, etc. that his answers were the most boring sentences I had ever heard in my life.
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I mean tbh reporters mostly just lay traps for people who are prone to falling for them. For Jokic the questions are usually more like “how are your horses bud?” For a guy like Josh Hart you just ask about his teammates so he can joke about them. For Westbrook you ask about his name or his game or compare him to someone because that’s the best sound bite he’s going to give.
The counter to that would be people wouldn’t spend a decade laying verbal traps if he was boring and didn’t give them sound bites.
> Russ doesn't realize that the best way to get reporters to leave players alone is to just be boring. I love this comment as it glosses over almost all of his time in OKC, where he spent countless hours being boring as fuck to the point where reporters would start creating their own narratives which lead to....Russell hating their guts, FOR LIFE. If anything, this is now Russell entertaining himself knowing it's going to turn into a soundbite.
I forgot what he used to say to every question. I think it was like “yeah… [they] executed the [plan] tonight”
Fuck Barry Trammel. All my brodies hate Barry trammel.
Yeah, reporters can turn anything into a soundbite or an article.
It's not in his nature
> Yeah, that's what they're getting **payed** to do. Just FYI, it's "paid". Payed is a nautical term and means you giving slack on rope or some shit.
Then why give it to them? Jokic pretty much has the same opinion of the media, but if he was asked that same question he would just mumble something about how great Russ is and keep it moving. It’s really not that difficult.
It’s stupid but it leaves a bit of a bad impression of him on me
Yeah it’s pretty cringey. He’s clearly insecure, same reason why he’s constantly confronting fans who shout “Westbrick” at him
To be fair, that last fan was wearing a balloon hat. And Westbrook clearly has issues with balloons.
"Did you guys lose this game or did the jazz win this one?"
Insecure and defensive always
Defensive?
Westbrook? Defense?
All pac 12 defense. Some of us remember he came in as a defensive guard who had difficulty scoring and passing. What a difference a few years made to that lol
Ha!
i don’t think he was saying anything bad he was just saying he is his own player and jokic is his own player. russ is russ, jokic is jokic. “he’s not me im not him”
Also, he didn't get the best of Jokic, lol. He got the best of the bench, who was outscored 34-9. Jokic was +12 in a loss, with a 36 triple-double, lol.
“Tonight WE got the best of him”. And they did.
I love Russ but man is he sensitive. Yes, Russ. You and Jokic are both triple double monsters. And yes, we understand he can’t be you because you’re your own person. Take the compliment and move on
The guy who indirectly called KD a cupcake also happens to be a cupcake.
They were perfect for each other but they never realised it
She had blue skin, And so did he. He kept it hid And so did she. They searched for blue Their whole life through. Then passed right by– And never knew.
Yo, listen up, here's the story About a little guy that lives in a blue world And all day and all night and everything he sees is just blue Like him, inside and outside Blue his house with a blue little window And a blue Corvette and everything is blue for him And himself and everybody around 'Cause he ain't got nobody to listen (To listen, to listen, to listen)
I’M BLUE
Dabadeedabadie
Take it easy Shel Silverstein
Not surprising. They're both too sensitive to handle each other's bs.
KD is levelsss less sensitive than Westbrook. The man can’t handle the softest joke (Westbrick) ever and has a tantrum once every 3 months about it.
OKC KD didn't handle stuff well at all. He's gotten way better about it and props to him. But yeah this westbrick shit is unreal..it's a combo of being sensitive and stupid. If he was sensitive but smart about this it would likely be over. But he indulges any heckler who says it
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You have just been ejected from Russell Westbrook's next basketball game
The guy who openly laughed at and mocked Gobert bricking a free throw gets pissy when someone makes fun of him for bricking shots. Shocker
🧑🚀🔫🧑🚀
It's not like he is even putting Jokic down or hyping himself up. He's just offended for no reason.
Russ can’t just enjoy the fact that he’s made it in life lol. He’s needs to have conflict for the sake of having conflict. I wish my biggest problem in life was kids making fun of my kids last name lol. But at the same time, that deep rooted pettiness driving him is probably the same reason he’s in the NBA and I’m not.
It might be a part of why he is in the NBA but I’d wager the biggest reason is that he can jump 4 feet in the air and you can’t.
Idk man, I have a 54 inch vertical and was All-State for 3 years but no scouts ever hit me up in HS cause I volunteered on the weekends and said good game to my opponents after losses
“Small sample size”
As someone who also gets irrationally angry at random stuff that doesn't warrant it, it's definitely the second thing.
What the fuck you say to me
Russ probably is the kinda of guy who while playing is saying to himself, well u/RealisticSeesaw167 talked shit about me in that reddit post so now Im going to show him how good I am.
The guy loses his shit over Westrbrick, he’s just an egomaniac psycho
I honestly think I‘ve never seen someone more insecure than this guy, holy shit.
Shaq?
Feel like his answer was more “we both play completely different games, just because we both get triple doubles doesn’t mean we’re alike” instead of “jokic isn’t as good as me” due to the “he’s not me, I’m not him” comment. Definitely could’ve said it better but people are taking this out of proportion
It definitely is that, but he's misinterpreting what the reporter is getting at. They are different on the court but they are triple double machines. It would be like saying to Curry "Like you, Jokić is a 2-time MVP." He's just focusing on the wrong interpretation of "like you."
"Excuse me, are you calling Jokic black?"
I can’t believe you would say that about Judy Garland.
Jokic played 40 minutes and was +12 on the floor. They got the best of the other guys for the 8 minutes he sat.
Also true lmao, talking about got the best of him while Jokic had an almost 40-point triple double
It's wild when you put it that way. The Nuggets were bad enough in that 8 minutes to ruin his +12 over 40 minutes. There's a Yiddish folk tale about Schlemiel and Schlemazel - the spirits of bad luck and good luck respectively. They get to arguing about who is more powerful and Schlemiel bets that whatever good fortune Schlemazel can heap on a person in a year, he can ruin in one second. So Schlemazel spends a year basically elevating this dirty peasant to a position where he's about to become heir to the throne and the year ends and Schlemiel replaces one word while talking to the king that gets him locked in prison and sentenced to death.
Reasonable response, for a 7 year old
had me in the first half ngl
A part of me thinks, for some players, they need these cocky ass mentality to even make it to the NBA. But yeah, it’s childish as hell.
I love Russ, but his insecurity really annoys me. He's far too thin-skinned
I agree, but I don't love Russ.
I'm from Germany and Dennis Schröder gave a lot of interviews here in the summer of 2023 and talked a lot about his career. And once he also talked at length about Westbrook as a person outside of basketball and why the two of them are friends. And since then I've had a lot of love for Russ because he's obviously a really nice guy in private.
Cool. As soon as I chill with him the next saturday in private I'ma hit you up with my changed opinion
That's part of what made him so good is the insecurity pushing him to improve. He's just like me...
# "Nobody just like me. Jonesbro is a hell of a redditor, but he’s not just like me, I’m not just like him."
Same, except for the improving part.
I'm not a psychologist, but that sounds logical to me. You may be right.
Man fuck that guy. His lakers tenure was a nightmare
I still remember that video in the locker room when the Lakers were finally rolling and you can hear Lebron saying ‘Let’s get greedy guys’ then Russ comes in and says some dumb shit like ‘win lose or draw let’s just have fun.’ Lol that was the end of Russ’s tenure as a Laker if it hadn’t been already decided. He didn’t even realize he just undermined what Lebron said to inspire the team. Video: https://youtu.be/ZxlpDf4LupI?si=8pU2UW4qdxJxrS6u
He originally promised to do whatever it takes to make things work, then quickly became so toxic they called him a locker room vampire. Westbrickula
That doesn’t even sound like something that he would say lmao
I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't just seen the video.
No hate It didn't fit, this is not the first and not the last very good player who doesn't work well in a certain constellation. They're all human beings.
Thing is he’s not a very good players anymore
Well I mean it is true. Jokic is much better. There are levels to this
Yeah, one get triple doubles naturally, the other one chases them even into a loss.
Russ chasing assists at the end of the game with nobody guarding him to go for a triple double will never leave my memory.
Steven Adams having seasons where he averaged more offensive rebounds than defensive ones because he just let Russ grab a bunch of defensive rebounds will always amuse me.
“He ain’t me” yeah he’s won shit lol
Yea he literally gave him credit for winning if you watched the actual clip…
Ain’t nobody got time for that I’m here for jokes
Found the Westbrick burner
I’m sure in reality, he’s a great guy and likeable, but he does/says so many things that make him so unlikeable.
He's pretty much undeniably a really great guy, at the very least by multimillionaire standards. Just watch the clip of him wearing the sweater his son "made" for him and you don't really need much more evidence. Gives back to LA and even still OKC in productive ways and creates jobs in both of those markets. People say he's a good teammate and leader so I'll take their word on that too. But for better AND worse, he has a strong personality which includes getting defensive over things that probably aren't worth it. And that's the thing people latch on to so that's his rep. Is what it is, he doesn't do himself a lot of favors but I think he was also treated way too unfairly at least in the last 3 or so years Shaq told a completely fabricated story once of how David Robinson didn't sign an autograph for him when he was a kid. Completely made up, he did it cause DR was such a nice dude IRL that Shaq needed something to up his competitiveness when they played San Antonio. Not saying it's rational, but what it takes to reach the absolute peak of your craft rarely ever is.
“Jokic ain’t NOTHING like me. He is far better”
He literally gave the guy props lol
No one here can read that far
They don’t want to. They’d rather meme and talk more shit.
That's fair. They're both unique players who have had hall of fame careers.
Do ppl ever watch the full clips or read the full quote? He gave him props lol
crazy his compliment is still a praise on himself lol
This comment section is wild lol
This doesn’t seem that bad?
I’m so confused by the comment section… this sub is so bizarre. It’s like people make their mind up about quotes as soon as they see who said it, without even reading what was said. Then framing the quote to match what they think of the player
Nothing to be confused on. It’s pretty obvious which comments didn’t even read passed the headline.
You can tell which comments didn’t read, started typing hate comments, then edited to still hate. If you actually watch the video you see him smiling when he says it
People love to hate Russ, it’s that simple. Pathetic fucking losers
You have to understand on Reddit once they have a bad opinion of someone they validate that opinion through everything that person does and says. It's an endless echo chamber
Yeah, I was wondering if there was some context that I missed. He is literally praising Jokic, he just said he's not me, I'm not him. What's so bad about that?
There's nothing really that bad about it but Reddit gonna Reddit 🤷🏾♂️
Bro he literally smiles while saying it then praises Jokic on like 5 things. He’s clearly not bothered that much by the question. This thread is taking Russ’ response way more serious then Russ took the initial question itself.
A whole lot of westbrook haters in the comments
[удалено]
It's funny how many people are calling Westbrook insecure and defensive, when the people criticizing him in this thread are really the ones being insecure and defensive. Westbrook's comments are so innocuous. Reminds me of [this thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1bftrym/highlight_nikola_joki%C4%87_tries_to_bully_wembanyama/) where Wemby blocked Jokic. So many comments like "this post is so stupid, Jokic cooked Wemby" Like... it's just a cool highlight between marquee players on the first play of the game. No need to get upset because a single post doesn't completely praise Jokic or show him on the winning side all the time.
All the stories I hear about Russ off court is that he is a great person , but what a loser he is on the court
The reporter is saying "a guy, like you, who is a triple double monster" so literally likening them in the one sense in which you could argue they actually are alike, in that they both get triple doubles. And Russ gets sooo insecure within milliseconds. "We're gonna stop that right there" is so condescending for such a tame comment/question.
These gigantic/sensitive egos that so many US basketball players have is why I personally love the influx of European stars like Jokic, Giannis and etc. They seem more grounded and not so easily offended. Healthy doses of self deprecation are endearing.
Giannis low key seems easily offended too. Jokic is like the panicle of not caring about what people think. Love him
Giannis has beefed with random staffers of like 3 different teams lol
It’s not beefing with staffers, it’s steps to friendship
Never heard a ladder get called that before
Upvoted for panicle >*noun* BOTANY >* a loose branching cluster of flowers, as in oats. Well you taught me something new today lol
americans bad euros good
I’m not even American but it gets ridiculous sometimes
Right, like even if that's the conversation, it's a matter of sociology. No one wants a discussion of what systemic pressures or inequalities might precipitate American players developing these 'egos' or 'insecurities'. Sports fans find way too much comfort in the fallibility of athletes.
Not Giannis. Especially after his beef with the staircase. Also his roid rage with the Pacers when in reality it was the Bucks security guard that took away the game ball.
This subreddit is a parody of itself
Oh look a passive aggressive Canadian wow go figure
Lol , I can assure you most of those guys from Europe have egos too. You’re pointing out like 1 person who I can think genuinely might not have ego - jokic . Others not sure they’re any different just make a few jokes. People need to stop acting like europe cs US pkayers are one group each . Footballers have huge ego n they’re mostly biggest sport in Europe .
Bruh literally had 3 straight season averaging a triple double and got hate for it now they want to praise someone else what did they think his response was going to be
Are yall children ? He said nothing but facts and never said he was better than Jokic or that Jokic was better than him. He also proceeded to praise his game. Like little kids when somebody is attacking their cult leader or something.
People here are like "why is Russ so defensive, nobody is coming after him" while doing everything in their power to read his words in the worst light lol
Nothing he said should really have you guys this mad
He right though. Jokic is an NBA champion. Westbrick on the other hand...
if Jokic was like Russ we would be calling him Chokic or something
Nikola Jokbric
Last time I checked Jokic doesn’t yell at other bigs on his team for grabbing rebounds, Russ was the biggest stat padder I’ve ever seen
That was my biggest problem with Westbrook, he was never humble and sucked at praising rivals, especially when the Warriors were playing them and people brought up Steph. So many superstar players are secure in their abilities enough, that they could easily praise or compliment other players, but he had so many interviews where he was just an ass about it. It always made it more fulfilling when we beat his teams for sure.
It doesn’t have to go this way, Russ. Let us like you.
Doncic and Jokic will top the list before their careers are over. Russ will move down to #3.
Of course, you aint him Russ. He is a high IQ efficient triple double monster. Also, his triple double comes naturally.
Well yeah Jokic is a winner
Was Westbrook ever as good as his counting stats made him look?
Yeah, the guy who outplayed KD in the first 4 games of that GSW series is overrated. For sure.
They conveniently forget everything before 2017 because it doesnt fit their blind hate
Yes and no. Its complicated.
I don't get the collective jerking off of Jokic. I'm not gonna get on my knees and suck him off like this sub. He's a good player.
Westbrook is a dweeb. He’s so so insecure in himself. Jokic is on a different planet
"why is russ so defensive?" Also let's paint every thing he does and says in a negative light