Following a dismaying ending to the 2020-21 season, the Los Angeles Lakers reinforced the star talent around LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The Lakers were linked to players like Kyle Lowry, Chris Paul and Buddy Hield often throughout the early stages of free agency, but all that flew out the window when the Washington Wizards swooped in with Russell Westbrook.
Both the Wizards and the Lakers agreed to a deal that brought Westbrook and three future second-round picks to L.A., with Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, three rotational fixtures, leaving.
Westbrook, who had just finished his first season with Washington, put up 22.2 points, 11.7 assists and 11.5 rebounds throughout 65 games; his start to the season wasn’t positive, but he went on a hot stretch later in the year to bounce back to his old ways.
The former MVP and two-time scoring champion should provide a major boost to the top-tier talent of the team, though concerns about his spacing ability are legit until proven otherwise.
As for where Westbrook stacks up with other players around the league, NBA.com Canada ranked him 27th in their list of the league’s top-30 players.
The ranking is based on a points system conducted by the site’s writers. Westbrook tallied 42 points, beating out Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, who earned 30 points.
In the same ranking, James came in at No. 3 while Davis slotted in at No. 10. Westbrook was previously unranked in this list.