NBA Q&A: Russell Westbrook
Posted by Unknown on Saturday, December 07, 2013 with No comments
Courtesy of Sam Amick
Q. You'd never been through something like this before, so you didn't have that institutional knowledge about how to rehab and how to keep a new schedule and things like that. What was the process like?
A. It was just about being smarter, but at the same time attacking it in a way that would benefit me in the long run. I was smart with the medical staff, and all the people that I work with. They did a good job with me of being consistent each and every day on what I needed to do and the timetables and all that stuff.
Q. But when you finally go down after all these years of being the invincible player, does that first time put a real scare into you and change the way you think at all?
A. Nah, not really. I don't really think about it much to tell you the truth. Once I got hurt, I kept playing on it afterwards (in the playoff game). I always tell myself, "If I'm not able to walk, then I won't play." And I wasn't able to walk after I got hurt, so obviously I can't play. But if I'm able to walk, then I'm going to see what I can do.
Q. Let's talk about your road back. I'd heard your brother was pretty heavily involved. What's the story there?
A. My brother, he works out a lot each and every day. And when it was time for me to get stuff done - and I started off slow because I was still trying to figure out how I was going to come back or how I looked; all those thoughts go through your mind - but my brother he does it every day. Every day, he'll work out regardless of what's going on, so I just said, 'I'm going to follow him.' He's my younger brother, but still I'm just going to follow him and fight through it. He told me many different times just to fight to get through stuff, with the surgery and all that, so I said, 'I'm going to attack it every day and do what he (does).' It worked out well for me.
Q. Over the years, we've seen more and more of your personality, and now you've ventured into the fashion world with underwear deals and the works. Are you having more fun and feeling more comfortable on the whole these days?
A. Yeah, I just think that a lot of doors have opened for me. I've been blessed to be able to meet different people and travel the world and meet different people and have conversations with different types of people in the world, and it's helped me out to be able to do different things and have an impact on certain situations.
Q. On the basketball front, bottom-line question: is your group feeling like a title contender again?
A. Yeah, I think we're in a good position. I think everybody is still trying to figure out their role as a player on this team and what they need to do to help us win, and I think once we get that in full gear, we put ourselves in a position to be back where we were.
Q. You'd never been through something like this before, so you didn't have that institutional knowledge about how to rehab and how to keep a new schedule and things like that. What was the process like?
A. It was just about being smarter, but at the same time attacking it in a way that would benefit me in the long run. I was smart with the medical staff, and all the people that I work with. They did a good job with me of being consistent each and every day on what I needed to do and the timetables and all that stuff.
Q. But when you finally go down after all these years of being the invincible player, does that first time put a real scare into you and change the way you think at all?
A. Nah, not really. I don't really think about it much to tell you the truth. Once I got hurt, I kept playing on it afterwards (in the playoff game). I always tell myself, "If I'm not able to walk, then I won't play." And I wasn't able to walk after I got hurt, so obviously I can't play. But if I'm able to walk, then I'm going to see what I can do.
Q. Let's talk about your road back. I'd heard your brother was pretty heavily involved. What's the story there?
A. My brother, he works out a lot each and every day. And when it was time for me to get stuff done - and I started off slow because I was still trying to figure out how I was going to come back or how I looked; all those thoughts go through your mind - but my brother he does it every day. Every day, he'll work out regardless of what's going on, so I just said, 'I'm going to follow him.' He's my younger brother, but still I'm just going to follow him and fight through it. He told me many different times just to fight to get through stuff, with the surgery and all that, so I said, 'I'm going to attack it every day and do what he (does).' It worked out well for me.
Q. Over the years, we've seen more and more of your personality, and now you've ventured into the fashion world with underwear deals and the works. Are you having more fun and feeling more comfortable on the whole these days?
A. Yeah, I just think that a lot of doors have opened for me. I've been blessed to be able to meet different people and travel the world and meet different people and have conversations with different types of people in the world, and it's helped me out to be able to do different things and have an impact on certain situations.
Q. On the basketball front, bottom-line question: is your group feeling like a title contender again?
A. Yeah, I think we're in a good position. I think everybody is still trying to figure out their role as a player on this team and what they need to do to help us win, and I think once we get that in full gear, we put ourselves in a position to be back where we were.
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