Russell Westbrook putting in the work on his jump shot ahead of the upcoming season initially got mixed reactions, but his persistence seems to have won fans over.
Russell Westbrook had a disappointing campaign last season. The Los Angeles Lakers veteran’s season saw a steep decline in his form as the Lakers failed to make the Play-Offs inspire having some big names in their ranks. So when news of an overhaul in the roster was initiated in the off-season, the NBA community thought that they had seen the last of Westbrook in a Lakers jersey.
With the signing of Patrick Beverley to boost the Lakers’ ranks in the backcourt, many people thought Russ was in for a trade – but due to a lack of suitors, it did not end up materialising. Hence, Russ joined up with the Lakers’ pre-season camp to prepare ahead of the season, and it only seemed right that he started working on what proved to be his Achilles heel last season – the jump shot.
Russ was initially spotted working on his jump shot in the gym a week ago, but it was not met with particularly enthusiastic reactions from his fans. But as it turns out, Russ stayed persistent and kept working on his jump shot from outside the arc – and it has improved by leaps and bounds as was seen from the video of him training inside the gym that has surfaced recently.
Russ was spotted finding the bucket with his jump shots from different angles, and his shooting form looked much better than it has in years. The 38-year-old looks like a man reborn, and the NBA community on Twitter had no option rather than giving the man his flowers.
It would be fair to say that Russ seems to have won a lot of his fans over again.
While one fan said “He definitely altered his release”, another said: “Wow, I’m actually impressed. He’s knocking those down with hands in his face and guys actually applying pressure. I’ve been against keeping Russ, but I’m not so sure about that at this point. His jumper looks totally different than it has his entire career.”
It surely seems like Russ might be in for a comeback season against all odds if he keeps up his shooting form.
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