How Russell Westbrook's Career Fell Apart | The Rise and Fall of The Brodie

Russell Westbrook's controversial career is respected by many, and criticized heavily by others. He quickly reached success upon entering the league, and reached the top of the basketball world, winning the MVP in 2017. A fantastic achievement, that has since been followed with dozens of ugly postseason exits. Over the last few years, it feels like Westbrook's playstyle has been questioned, and many detractors staunchly believe his game does not translate to winning. Is this the case? How has Westbrook’s reputation been tainted so quickly, and why has he failed to achieve recent playoff success? This is the rise and fall of The Brodie.

Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
03:29 - Westbrook’s Rookie Season
04:48 - 2009-10 Season
06:01 - 2010-11 Season, Russ Becomes an All-Star
06:56 - Westbrook Blamed for Playoff Loss
07:36 - 2011-12 Season
08:08 - 2012 Playoffs
09:46 - The James Harden Trade
10:12 - 2012-13 Season: Great Start, Terrible Ending
11:05 - 2013-14 Season
12:02 - 2014 Playoffs
12:54 - 2014-15 Season
13:48 - 2015-16 Season
14:34 - 2016 Playoffs
16:58 - Kevin Durant Leaves
18:02 - 2016-17 Season: Westbrook’s MVP
20:30 - 2017 Playoffs
21:14 - A New Big 3 in OKC
22:18 - 2017-18 Season
23:27 - 2018 Playoffs
24:32 - 2018 Offseason
25:13 - 2018-19 Season
26:03 - 2019 Playoffs
26:47 - Westbrook Traded to Houston
27:31 - 2019-20 Season
28:29 - Westbrook Traded to Washington
28:53 - 2020-21 Season
30:01 - Westbrook Traded to Los Angeles
31:03 - 2021-22 Season, The Lakers Disaster
32:45 - Conclusion

[maxmalten]

One day, teams will understand that you don't need 3 stars that can put up 30 ppg, but solid roleplayers that defend and know their role.

[EJD]

Most of his problems are on him for unwilling to adapt. He’s past his prime but he doesn’t feel that way. People blaming him for all the lakers problems is not true though. That team is a hot mess.

[smido]

Man OKC Russ was something to be reckoned…it’s him putting his body, passion and heart out in the court that I loved…sad to have witnessed such a decline in his play

[bmcfonzie]

His game is predicated on being at the pinnacle of athleticism: run faster, jump higher, throw it down harder. You just can't do any of that at 33 like you could at 23.

[thebnsftracker]

Its sad because when he was in OKC, he not only went to my church, but actually humbly spoke about his life to the congregation one Sunday. I was an usher and had the pleasure of shaking his hand when he came through the back to reach the stage. Truly a very sad story.

[Mr-Opium]

Was never a fan of Westbrook but gotta feel for the man. Went from one of the best and most loved PG’s in the league to someone hated and atrocious

[sugarblue]

I think the issue with Westbrook on the lakers is that LeBron does what he does already. Westbrook needs the ball to make plays and openings but LeBron does it better, so unless he's driving to the rim, he has no idea what to do when LeBron is the ball handler. This would be easier if Westbrook was a better defender but his defense is so lazy, all he does is wait for a steal or a rebound so he can be aggressive offensively.

All he needs to do is work on reading the movements of players on defense and to find open lanes and wall people off on offense. Because when he does get in the paint he can still be dangerous, he just can't rely on his team always making that space for him every time. Trust that Davis will get the rebound, that LeBron will pass him the ball when he has an opening and that if he makes space LeBron can hit some clean shots

[its_jawsh]

It’s really crazy watching this when you talk about the day Westbrook broke the Triple-double record in 2017 at 19:09. I was actually at that game and I recorded the final minute when he got the shot off to win the game. Even though we all were nuggets fans in that arena everyone was really in awe when he accomplished it. Truly one of the best basketball games I’ve ever been to.

[mdquaglia]

This amount of excellent work needs to be rewarded.

[chillychese]

One of those channels where every video is an instant watch

[DEMI-squf]

Man so sad to see him like this. It’s mostly his fault too. Could easily adjust his game to be better but boneheadedness has costed him a lot.

[andrewphassos]

This channel is absolute masterclass. Dylan puts in more effort to these vids than anyone I’ve ever seen and just keeps grinding out content that I’ll watch from start to finish. Deserves a billion subs.

[sebfinnigan]

As someone who has watched Russ for his whole career, as he was my fav player. Seeing him like this was miserable for me, I really love him and his game

[urbaindelva]

As much as we can acknowledge Russ's greatness, we also cannot deny his shortcomings as a player.

[Breakbeats.]

When Jordan was in college, Dean Smith pulled him aside and said, "you can have a career on talent alone, but don't just rely on your physicals gifts, take that immense talent and make yourself an all-time great." Not sure anyone gave Russ that speech or if he paid attention when they did.

[brrazzy]

There is barely any videos on YouTube going into depth about this topic, because it's very controversial and there is a lot of context to be put into consideration when it comes to Westbrook's career. Westbrook is my favorite player, but he has one of the most interesting careers in my opinion. There's so many ups and downs and as a fan of his I always found myself to be unbiased.

[Nahaintnoway]

God I hate seeing Brodie’s decline. I have a lot of respect for him as a man and seeing this unravel is upsetting to see.

[dragonfire]

This channel is honestly one of the best basketball channels I’ve seen

[Cubone]

How does this channel have less than 100k subs? Amazing quality and production please keep it up

[leroyrodgers]

Russ has actually been treated with immense respect beyond OKC. He got sent to thr Rockets to be with James, the Wizards to be with Beal and the Lakers. That's incredible. What other player with a huge contract who is past his prime gets that sort of love aside from Harden?