Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss had some interesting comments while promoting the latest documentary about her life running an NBA franchise.
Buss appeared on a podcast with NBA insider Sam Amick to discuss the new Hulu docuseries “Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers.” While speaking to Amick, the two eventually talked about the modern era of the team and the latest construction of the roster.
It is always fascinating to learn the perspective of someone who has as much insight into an organization as Buss. Her comments about Russell Westbrook, however, were particularly surprising (via The Athletic):
“All I can say is that, from my point of view, (Westbrook) was our best player last year. He played pretty much every single game, showed up, worked hard. You know, I would have loved to have seen what this team would have looked like if they stayed healthy. It’s really tough to win when Anthony Davis isn’t on the court. LeBron was hurt a lot of the season. But Russ showed up every game and played hard every night. And, you know, I just really appreciate him for who he is and what he brings to the team.”
By all accounts, Westbrook did not have a positive impact on the team.
He recorded a career-worst mark in catch-all stats like box plus-minus and win shares. Plus, from a chemistry perspective, it seemed there was a pretty massive fallout between the two parties by the end of the season.
After the podcast, Amick allowed Buss to clarify what she meant when she called Westbrook the best player on the Lakers. This is what she said:
“The word I should have used was ‘consistent … He played 78 games last season.”
Westbrook, indeed, started more games than anyone else on the team did last season. The guard appeared in the Los Angeles starting lineup in 78 games, whereas no one else reached even 60 games in the starting lineup.
He also played 539 minutes more than any other player on the team did.
However, his productivity during those minutes was fairly consistent and didn’t often lead to winning basketball. Los Angeles had a losing record in games that Westbrook played but LeBron James and Anthony Davis did not appear.
