Russell Westbrook might be the angriest guy in the NBA right now, what with his beefs with everyone from Kevin Durant to referees. And don’t forget all of us jerks talking about his triple-doubles. Just let the guy play basketball, damn y’all. Anyway, even as the chip on his shoulder grows into a boulder, Westbrook is playing above an MVP level. And he’s providing highlight after highlight, despite his team struggling to 7th place right now in the playoff hunt.
One highlight that had every last jaw on the floor on Saturday was Westbrook’s tribute to God Shammgod with the move known simply as the “Shammgod.” While some people attribute the incredible move to various European players, it’s still the Shammgod to us, dang it, and so we’re going to let the man, myth, and legend take all the credit he wants. Needless to say, Shammgod is pleased that his legacy lives on with one of the NBA’s biggest superstars.
Take it away, God:
One of my friends texted me and said Russ did the move. I said, “OK,” and went back to sleep. When I woke up like five of my friends texted me the actual video. Then everybody started texting me stuff from different sports sites and Russell’s [post game interview]. Me and Russ have a mutual friend so me and [the friend] were texting last night and I told him to tell Russ good looking on keeping the name out there. (Via BET)
Shammgod, now an assistant coach for player development with the Mavericks, says that Kyrie Irving “no question” is the best ball handler in the NBA. However, he still thinks that what Westbrook did on Saturday was outstanding, even if it still wasn’t the real deal.
Russell’s was like the best I’ve seen in a long time. I think it was perfect for who he is. You can’t expect people to dribble like me. I’ve been dribbling since before I can remember. It’s totally different. But for who he is, he did great, because you don’t really see him do moves. That’s why it was more intriguing to everybody. He capped it off with the nice assist too. Had that nice mannequin challenge after.
Despite being considered a legend by many hoops fans and players, Shammgod’s NBA career was short-lived and unspectacular. As he told BET, he was simply a great ball-handler ahead of his time, as he claims “it would be crazy” if he could play in this era. All we can do, though, is day dream about the Shammgod.
