Draymond Green had plenty to say about the way Russell Westbrook has been treated, and he didn’t hold back on the fans doing the judging.
On his podcast, Green pushed back hard on the sudden wave of appreciation that followed Westbrook’s NBA retirement announcement. In Green’s view, the praise should have been there all along for one of the defining stars of the 2010s, not just after his playing career was over.
“Basketball fans suck,” Green said. “And by the way, I am a basketball fan, so you can throw me in that category, too.
But basketball fans suck. Because for the last eight to 10 years, all this guy has heard is how bad he sucks, how he don't shoot it well, how he stat pad, and how he mess up teams.”
Green also took aim at the way Westbrook was labeled over the years, bringing up the kind of criticism that followed him throughout his career.
"'Westbrick' and all the things y'all said about him," Green said. "And the moment he step aside, 'Oh man, y'all did Russ wrong.
Can't tell me he couldn't be on a team. What?
How? Wow, how he played the game.
Gonna miss him and not in the NBA.' All these great beautiful things.
Why can't we feel that when you going?"
Westbrook’s résumé is the kind that demands attention even from his harshest critics. He never won a championship, but he spent eight seasons alongside Kevin Durant on the Oklahoma City Thunder, where the two stars reached one NBA Finals and four Western Conference Finals. Both were one-time MVP winners and regular All-NBA selections during the 2010s, and they were always part of the title picture.
Green’s point was simple: the conversation around Westbrook focused too much on the mistakes and too little on the force of his best years. He argued that fans were quick to hammer the flaws in Westbrook’s game while overlooking how much he meant at his peak.
There’s likely some personal truth in Green’s reaction, too. He’s been one of the league’s most polarizing figures for years, a player whose greatness as a defender and centerpiece of a dynasty often gets filtered through the louder moments people remember instead. But in Green’s eyes, that kind of retroactive respect misses the point.
If Westbrook deserved the flowers now, Green clearly thinks he should have gotten them long before he walked away.
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