Lakers' Austin Reaves: Russell Westbrook Was '1 of the Best Teammates I've Ever Had'

Russell Westbrook's time with the Los Angeles Lakers didn't go the way he or the organization hoped, but he left a positive impression of Austin Reaves.

During an appearance on Showtime's All The Smoke (h/t HoopsHype), Reaves told a story about a time when Westbrook was there for him, and praised the likely future Hall of Famer for being a great teammate and person:

"Yeah, he's one of the best teammates I've ever had as a person, you know, you can't get much better. I got COVID in December of my rookie year in Minnesota, and I was stuck there for like seven days. It was rough, but, you know, he reached out like three or four times, asked me if I needed anything, offered to send me stuff, whatever I needed. So as a person, you know, you couldn't get better.

"And same as a teammate, he was always empowering everybody to really be better and do better. And one more thing, like you said, he gets a bad rap, and I don't really understand why."

Prior to the 2021-22 season, the Lakers acquired Westbrook in a trade with the Washington Wizards, clearly hoping he could be a third star alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Westbrook played parts of two seasons for the Lakers, and while his numbers weren't horrible, they paled in comparison to what he did in previous stints with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets and Wizards.

In 130 games with the Lakers, the nine-time All-Star, two-time scoring champion and one-time NBA MVP averaged 17.4 points, 7.2 assists and 6.9 rebounds.

Westbrook was not a great complement for James and Davis, though, as he lacked defensively and as a shooter, which led to them trading him to the Utah Jazz last season.

The Jazz waived Westbrook, allowing him to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers, which breathed new life into his career, as he averaged 23.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.4 assists in five playoff games for the Clips.

Ironically, one of the reasons why the Lakers were able to move on from Westbrook was the emergence of Reaves in his second season, as he averaged 13.0 points, 3.4 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 three-pointers made per game for a team that reached the Western Conference Finals.

Reaves signed a new four-year, $53.83 million deal to remain with the Lakers this offseason, while Westbrook re-signed with the Clippers on a two-year deal, meaning the friends and former teammates will be on opposite sides of the L.A. rivalry moving forward.