Westbrook: It's not 'championship or bust' for Clippers

Russell Westbrook - The Canadian Press

Published Oct 02, 2023 at 01:50 PM ET

While it might be the case in the eyes of fans and the media, Los Angeles Clippers guard Russell Westbrook denies that it's championship or bust for his team this season.

The Clippers are entering the fifth season of the Kawhi Leonard-Paul George era and have won a combined three playoff rounds, thus far. The team exited this past spring's playoffs in a first-round loss to the Phoenix Suns in five games.

Russell Westbrook on a championship-or-bust mentality: "The championship or bust, to me that's not a real thing. That's a thing that people make up. ... You could accomplish a lot more. You can create brotherhood, you can learn a lot more about people."
— Justin Russo (@FlyByKnite) October 2, 2023

"The championship or bust, to me that's not a real thing," Westbrook said on Monday at the team's media day availability. "That's a thing that people make up...you could accomplish a lot more [than that]. You can create brotherhood, you can learn a lot more about people."

Westbrook, 34, is entering his 12th NBA season and second with the Clippers. He appeared in 21 games for the team last year after being claimed on waivers from the Los Angeles Lakers. The UCLA product averaged 15.8 points on .489 shooting with 7.6 assists and 4.9 boards over 30.2 minutes a night.

The Clippers open their regular season on Oct. 25 at home to the Portland Trail Blazers. Their preseason slate gets underway on Sunday against the Utah Jazz.