Gilbert Arenas defends Russell Westbrook: ‘If you don’t kiss their a—s, they sit there and f–k with your legacy’

Former Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas came to the defense of Russell Westbrook against folks who have criticized his legacy.

“It’s real weird because it was like they were trying to discredit his triple-double,” Arenas said of Westbrook. “Because he — it was too easy for him. Right? And he’s changing history. You know when motherf—— have heroes, it’s hard for them to let go sometimes.”

Arenas also discussed how Westbrook was criticized for “padding stats,” yet other players weren’t able to achieve what the former MVP has in his career.

“These same people are voting, they got your legacy in their hands,” Arenas said. “So, if you don’t kiss their a—-, they sit there and f— with your legacy.”

Westbrook is now long in the tooth at 35 years old, but during the halcyon days of his NBA career, he had a special knack for racking up triple-doubles.

For a five-season stretch from the 2016-17 campaign through the 2020-21 season, Westbrook averaged a triple-double on four occasions.

He also has the most regular-season triple-doubles to his name of any player in the history of the NBA at 199. Oscar Robertson — who averaged a triple-double with the Cincinnati Royals during the 1961-62 season — has the second most with 181.

The first season that Westbrook averaged a triple-double — the 2016-17 season — he took home the NBA’s MVP award. In 81 games played during the regular season, he averaged a league-high 31.6 points to go along with 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists per contest.

That season also marked the first of his career where Westbrook was not teammates with one of the best scorers of his generation in Kevin Durant. Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder during the offseason to join forces with Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson on the Golden State Warriors.

Westbrook’s most recent season when he averaged a triple-double came when he was no longer a member of the Thunder. He averaged 22.2 points, 11.5 rebounds and a league-high 11.7 assists in 65 appearances with the Wizards in the 2020-21 regular season.

Perhaps Westbrook is no longer capable of averaging a triple-double, but he seemingly has a legitimate chance to finally win an NBA championship with his new team in the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets won their first title in franchise history not all that long ago, as they beat eliminated the Miami Heat in five games in the 2023 NBA Finals.

Plus, Denver is fortunate enough to employ perhaps the best player in the league today in Nikola Jokic. Jokic won the 2023-24 NBA MVP award after he averaged 26.4 points while shooting 58.3 percent from the field and 35.9 percent from 3-point range along with 12.4 rebounds, 9.0 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.9 blocks per contest.