Russell Westbrook On All-Star Starting Snub: ‘I Play To Win Championships’

Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook wasn’t named to the starting lineup for the Western Conference All-Star team, but that didn’t seem to bother him.

Westbrook lost out to Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry and Houston Rockets point guard James Harden despite coming in first in the media and players’ vote. The star point guard is averaging 30.6 points, 10.4 assists and 10.6 rebounds per game but came in third in the fan vote, which is used as the tiebreaker.

Westbrook, however, isn’t concerned with not starting for the Western Conference.

“It is what it is,” Westbrook told the media Friday. “That’s the nature of the business, the game. I just play. I don’t play for All-Star bids. I play to win championships, and every night I compete at a high level, and it’ll work out.”

Westbrook is one of the MVP front-runners as the NBA season heads toward the All-Star break. He leads the league in scoring, has recorded 21 triple-doubles and is the first player to be averaging a triple-double at this point in the season since the 1963-64 campaign. His sensational play earned him the nod from current players and the media, but that also didn’t seem to matter to the Thunder star.

“(Winning the players’ vote) doesn’t change anything for me,” Westbrook said. “It’s a great honor … and being an All-Star is something you don’t take for granted. But like I said, I don’t play to play in the All-Star (Game). … I play to become a better player and to win championships.”

The All-Star reserves will be announced Thursday and are selected by NBA head coaches. This year’s NBA All-Star Game will be played Feb. 19 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

Thumbnail photo via Mark D. Smith/USA TODAY Sports Images