Голден Стэйт Уорриорс багийн тоглогч Дрэймонд Грин Расселл Уэстбрукийг карьерынх нь турш шүүмжилж байсан хүмүүс зодог тайлахтай нь зэрэгцэн гэнэт магтан дуулж эхэлснийг хоёр нүүртэй зан хэмээн тодорхойллоо.
Расселл Уэстбрук 18 улирлын турш NBA-д тоглосны эцэст зодог тайлснаа зарласан даруйд олон нийтийн сүлжээгээр түүнийг магтсан сэтгэгдлүүд эрс нэмэгдсэн байна. Гэвч Дрэймонд Грин үүнийг спортын ертөнцийн хамгийн муухай зуршлуудын нэг гэж үзэж байгаа аж. Тэрээр хөгжөөн дэмжигчид тамирчдыг идэвхтэй тоглож байх үед нь доромжилж, харин зодог тайлсны дараа нь гэнэт хүндэтгэл үзүүлдэг нь шударга бус явдал гэдгийг онцолжээ.
Сүүлийн 8-10 жилийн хугацаанд Уэстбрук “Westbrick” хэмээх хоч зүүж, шидэлтийн чадвар болон тоглолтын шийдвэр гаргалтынхаа улмаас байнга шүүмжлүүлж байсан. Грин энэ талаар “Бид нэгнийгээ амьд сэрүүн байхад нь хайрлахгүй байж, хорвоог орхисны дараа эсвэл карьераа дуусгасны дараа л сайхан бүхнийг ярьдаг” хэмээн шүүмжлэлтэй хандав.
Расселл Уэстбрук нь NBA-ийн түүхэнд 209 triple-double-аар тэргүүлдэг, 2017 оны MVP, есөн удаагийн All-Star тоглогч юм. Мөн тэрээр улирлын турш дунджаар triple-double үзүүлэлт бүртгүүлсэн анхны тоглогч болж, энэ амжилтаа нийт дөрвөн удаа давтсан билээ. Грин хөгжөөн дэмжигчдийг Уэстбрукийн гайхалтай амжилтыг түүнийг зодог тайлахыг хүлээлгүйгээр үнэлэх ёстой байсан хэмээн үзэж байна.
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Draymond Green believes Russell Westbrook’s retirement exposed one of basketball fandom’s ugliest habits: tearing players down while they are active, then suddenly celebrating them once they are gone.
Following Westbrook’s retirement announcement after 18 NBA seasons, Green criticized the dramatic shift in public sentiment surrounding the former MVP. For years, Westbrook was one of the league’s most heavily scrutinized stars, regularly mocked for his shooting, decision-making and pursuit of triple-doubles. Within hours of his retirement, however, social media filled with tributes praising his competitiveness, historic production and impact on the game.
Green did not miss the contradiction.
“Basketball fans, y’all suck. 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.”
His criticism centered particularly on the final decade of Westbrook’s career, when the conversation around the nine-time All-Star often became far more negative than celebratory.
“Because for the last 8 to 10 years, all this guy has heard is how bad he sucks, how he don’t shoot it well, how he stat pads, and how he messes up teams,” Green said.
No nickname represented that criticism more clearly than “Westbrick,” the label repeatedly used to mock Westbrook’s shooting struggles. Westbrook himself publicly objected to the nickname during his Lakers tenure, explaining that he felt it had gone beyond basketball criticism and had become disrespectful toward his family name.
Green argued that many of those same people criticizing Westbrook are now speaking about him completely differently.
“Make no mistake about it. ‘Westbrick,’ and all the things y’all said about him,” Green said. “And the moment he steps aside, ‘oh man, y’all did Russ wrong. Can’t tell me he couldn’t be on a team. Wow, how he played the game. Gonna miss him.’ All these great, beautiful things.”
For Green, the issue extends beyond Westbrook. He compared the reaction to the way people sometimes wait until someone dies before expressing how much that person meant to them.
“Why we can’t feel that when you gone?” Green said. “It’s like when somebody die. Everybody’s like, ‘oh man, best dude ever, best woman ever, would take the shirt off their back.’ Everybody got all these great things to say. But when that person was living, you don’t show that love.”
Westbrook leaves basketball with accomplishments that make his historical significance difficult to dispute. He retires as the NBA’s career leader with 209 triple-doubles, won the 2017 MVP award, made nine All-Star teams and became the first player since Oscar Robertson to average a triple-double for an entire season. He ultimately accomplished that feat four times.
Yet Green’s point was not that Westbrook should have been immune from basketball criticism. It was that the criticism became so overwhelming that many fans appeared to lose sight of the player they were watching while he was still playing.
Westbrook heard it all.
The missed-shot jokes. The “stat-padding” accusations. The questions about whether winning teams could accommodate him. The “Westbrick” chants. The criticism followed him from Oklahoma City through Houston, Washington, Los Angeles, Denver and Sacramento.
Then he retired, and much of the conversation changed overnight.
“Why is it that Russell Westbrook has to announce his retirement, unexpectedly, to finally see the love that he deserves?” Green asked. “Why is that?”
Draymond Green says fans called Russell Westbrook “Westbrick” for ten years then loved him the day he quit, and Westbrook heard every word
“Basketball fans, y’all suck. Basketball fans suck. And by the way, I am a basketball fan, so you can throw me in that category too. But… pic.twitter.com/79UMV24ltj
— katsu (@katsuxbt) August 13, 2026
That question may ultimately be the most powerful part of Green’s response.
Westbrook’s career does not need to be rewritten now that it is over. His flaws were real, just as his accomplishments were extraordinary. But Green’s frustration is about timing.
If basketball fans genuinely believe Westbrook was one of the most electrifying, relentless and unique players of his generation, he believes they should not have needed his retirement announcement to finally say it.
The post Draymond Green Blasts Fans For Waiting Until Russell Westbrook Retired To Appreciate Him appeared first on OpenCourt Basketball.
