DENVER (KDVR) — The Denver Nuggets played the Sacramento Kings on Monday night, winning 130-124, on the back of a trademark Nikola Jokić performance, who scored a season-high 34 points and added 14 assists.
Jokić filled up the stat sheet for the Nuggets, while a familiar face, Russell Westbrook, kept the Kings within range with 26 points, 6 assists and 12 rebounds, during a close contest.
It was the first time Westbrook had been on the opposite side of the Nuggets since his departure over the summer, and if you ask him, that’s exactly how the Nuggets would have wanted it.
Reporters circled around the locker of Westbrook following the end of the game, with some reporters asking why he wasn’t in the opposite team’s jersey tonight.
“The truth is that they didn’t want me back,” said Westbrook. “It ain’t up to me. God always has a plan; be patient. Not up to me. They don’t want me, that’s okay. Somebody else do.”
Bleacher Report said that the Nuggets even asked Westbrook to decline his player option at the end of the season.
“They told me not to,” said Westbrook. “I don’t go anywhere I’m not wanted. I don’t need to.”
NBA contracts often offer a player option or a team option, which is typically an extra year that is added to the contract after a player says they want to stay for the player option, while the team says that the player is staying in a team option.
From the sound of it, Westbrook’s player option moonlighted as a team option, with the Nuggets requesting he decline.
Westbrook was an exciting, yet volatile addition for the Nuggets last season. A shoe-in Hall of Famer, Westbrook is a nine-time All-Star, former NBA MVP and the all-time leader in triple-doubles, after averaging one for nearly four seasons straight.
He is not at the peak of his powers and hasn’t been the same player as the one who won MVP. In his defense, he is 36 years old and has been one of the most explosive athletes in the NBA for almost two decades, something that is sure to have taken a toll on his body.
Nuggets fans knew they weren’t getting prime Westbrook, but his experience and talent were an exciting prospect for a team with championship aspirations. He was a part of the team that took the champion Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games, and finished seventh in Sixth Man of the Year voting.
Westbrook primarily came off the bench for the Nuggets all season, but also swapped into the starting lineup at times. In the regular season, he put up statistics, including:
- 13.3 points per game
- 6.1 assists per game
- 4.9 rebounds per game
- 1.4 steals per game
- 44.9% FG
In the postseason, one of Westbrook’s most criticized skills, his jumper, began to falter, and he was unable to match his efficiency from the regular season. He put up near-similar stats, including:
- 11.7 points per game
- 2.6 assists per game
- 3.7 rebounds per game
- 39.1% FG
Westbrook’s departure was one of many, as the Nuggets made some major offseason moves to tool up to contend for a championship once again.
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