Russell Westbrook gave outlandish gift to LA Clippers team-mates in private camp

03 October 2023 , 23:11

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Russell Westbrook gave his teammates new phones

Russell Westbrook bought all of his teammates the new iPhone 15 Max at a private Los Angeles Clippers minicamp he helped organise.

The former MVP is back with the Clippers after resigning on a two-year deal for just £2.9million ($3.5m) per year after struggling in recent years, but he is still likely to be a key player for the championship hopefuls.

And it appears that he's already in the good books with his teammates after purchasing them the new phone, after the team got together for the first time to begin preseason.

Westbrook had also organised a mini-camp for the team to get together and practice with one another, after they had a disappointing year last season - being bounced out of the playoffs in the first round.

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While Westbrook has not earned many plaudits as a good teammate in recent years including his struggles with the Los Angeles Lakers that saw him traded, his former teammate Austin Reaves did recently speak positively of him.

Reaves said: "He is one of the best teammates I have ever had. As far as a person, you won't get anyone better."

Westbrook has struggled to play at the level he'd been at when he'd been competing for MVP awards, especially in the last several seasons, becoming less engaged on the defensive side of the ball and not putting in enough effort.

Westbrook has always been a poor three-point shooter, and has been roundly criticised for taking low-percentage shots far too often. As well as his poor offensive efficiency, Westbrook has also been criticised for his decision-making.

Russell Westbrook is back with the Clippers on a two-year deal

The 34-year-old did start the season well with the Lakers, after accepting a role off the bench while looking back to himself as an explosive facilitator. But after falling out with head coach Darvin Ham, he was traded away to the Utah Jazz before landing with the Clippers.

Westbrook performed well in his brief period with the team, and will now likely be the starting point guard heading into the new season alongside the likes of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

The Clippers are likely to be playoff contenders, but might struggle when coming up against the likes of the Denver Nuggets, Lakers, Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors.

Westbrook averaged 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds, but had his best shooting numbers from the three-point line with the Clippers shooting 35% in a small sample size.

Charlie Wilson