Russell Westbrook Wanted to Pursue a Football Career As a Kid

Getty

Russell Westbrook is in his 18th NBA season and first with the Sacramento Kings.

Russell Westbrook first entered the league during the 2008-09 season. Throughout his time in the NBA, he’s accomplished numerous accolades and awards.

There is no doubt that he’s had an impressive career, especially for someone who grew up wanting to play another sport. On December 27th, against the Dallas Mavericks, Westbrook moved to seventh on the all-time assists list, passing Hall of Famer Magic Johnson.

After the game, he spoke to reporters about his childhood and where he’s at now in his career. “I grew up wanting to play football,” Westbrook said. “I grew up playing football, taking a bus, going to the park, playing just being a normal kid in the city. And things happened so fast to me. I always knew if given the opportunity to be able to be somebody, I would take full advantage of it. That’s why every time I step on the floor, I don’t take anything for granted. I don’t take plays or anything for granted.”

Russell Westbrook’s Impressive NBA Career

Westbrook has played a lot of basketball throughout his career and at 37, he still goes out there and competes at a high level. The nine-time All-Star currently ranks 16th on the all-time scoring list.

Looking at his resume, Westbrook has put together a Hall of Fame career. In 2017, he won the MVP award while averaging a triple-double for the season. The next season he averaged a triple-double and became the first player in NBA history to do so in back-to-back seasons.

He currently is the all-time leader in triple-doubles as with 207. Westbrook spent the majority of his career with the Oklahoma City Thunder where he developed into a superstar.

As a member of the Thunder, Westbrook was a part of the 2012 team that lost to the Miami Heat in the finals.

Westbrook is that player who will go out and leave it on the floor each and every game and he plays with a lot of emotion because the game means so much to him.

“This was given to me, not just for basketball, but to use as a platform to be able to help and inspire other people,” he said. “So I hope the way I play the game, I hope the way people see it be competing. Yes, the records are all great, but I hope it inspires other people, people across the world, to do great things in their lives as well.”

Russell Westbrook Wanted to Pursue a Football Career

Growing up, Westbrook was a multi-sport athlete. Before going on to college to play basketball at UCLA and then becoming a NBA player, he was getting after it on the gridiron.

Back in 2016, when he was with the Thunder, Westbrook was asked if he played football, what position would he play. He went on to tell reporters that he did in fact play football and that he played running back and linebacker.

Wesbrook said that he preferred linebacker over running back because he liked to hit people. Who knows the career he could have had if he pursued football, but it looks like he made the right choice sticking with basketball.

Kevin Moore Kevin Moore is an NBA Contributing Writer at Heavy. His previous work has appeared in the York Daily Record, MLBBro.com, MLB.com, and The Detroit News. Moore is an avid Detroit sports fan and his favorite sports memories are the Detroit Pistons winning the 2004 NBA Finals and interviewing NBA Hall of Famer Chris Webber. More about Kevin Moore