By Brandon Zhu
In 2017, the Oklahoma City Thunder signed point guard Russell Westbrook to a five-year contract extension worth $205 million dollars. The OKC star was the current NBA MVP at the time, and in the 2017-18 season, Westbrook averaged 10.7 rebounds, 10.4 assists, and 25.4 points per game. However, after disappointing first-round playoff exits in 2018 and 2019 Westbrook was traded to the Houston Rockets. In the 2020 NBA playoffs, Westbrook helped the Rockets get to the conference semifinals where they lost to the Lakers in five games. Although Westbrook hasn’t found the greatest playoff success, his personal accolades and work in the community and social justice issues show why he is a star in the league. Since being drafted in 2008, Westbrook is a 2x NBA assists leader, 2x NBA scoring champion, 9x NBA All-Star, and made 9 All-NBA Teams. He was also a member of the 2012 USA Basketball gold medal-winning team at the London Olympics.