It’s been an eventful offseason for the Oklahoma City Thunder. The team lost its best player in free agency and traded away another longtime starter. It came close to trading away its remaining star before finally extending Russell Westbrook’s contract.
Now with Westbrook signed for at least an additional year, the Thunder will start the next era in their history. This time, it will be an era led entirely by Russell Westbrook.
Westbrook will be asked to shoulder the load. He will have to live up to Michael Jordan’s comparisons in order to allow his team to have significant success.
But if one is to take Westbrook’s word, he is not looking to change his game one bit:
“Honestly, I’ll play the same way regardless,” he told reporters at his press conference. “Every single night, regardless of whether I’m the guy, the next guy, or the guy in the spotlight. That’s just who I am.
“And today, obviously, this is a great moment for me and the fans and the city. But I also know what got me to this point which is coming in, being consistent on what I’m doing and what I’m trying to do for this organization and for the team. And that’s winning a championship. The most important part for me is winning regardless of if I’m the go-to guy or if I’m not. My job is to find ways to win.
It will be an interesting season for Westbrook and the Thunder. The last time Westbrook had a team to himself with Durant injured, he put up spectacular numbers but was unable to drag the team to the playoffs.
Whether this season will be different than that one remains to be seen. But Russell Westbrook is ready for the challenge and he will face it playing the same way he has always played.
