Free Agent Russell Westbrook Might Not Have A Team To Play For, But He's Not Letting That Stop Him From Getting Some Shots Up On His Massive Yacht

Juan Ocampo. Getty Images.

Sure it might be the end of August and Russell Westbrook still might not have a new team for the 2025-26 NBA season, but those are what I would call "semantics". Unless he shockingly decides to retire, eventually we'll get the Shams notification of where he's finally landed. The Kings for example seem desperate to sign him despite him making zero sense for their roster, but then again, they seemed determined to get back to their KANGZ days, so who the hell knows.

The good news for any potential team out there who might be debating as to whether or not they should get into the Russell Westbook business is that, despite not having a team, he's still extremely dedicated to his craft. So much so that he's getting shots up on his yacht

Alright, what the hell is going on? Not too long ago, it was Magic Johnson who was getting some shots up on his mega yacht

and now we have Russ doing the same. It begs the question: Are you even really putting in work in the offseason unless it involves taking some practice jumpers on a massive yacht? I can't lie, the same way I thought this was a great flex by Magic, the same is true for Westbrook. Oh, you think he's bothered by still being a free agent? Ha, you fool. He's just loving life while getting some work in, probably in some awesome remote location I've never heard of. 

I also respect this move from Russ because he's nowhere close to the shooter that Magic is, so the chances that the ball (and all his back-up balls) ricochet off the rim and are lost forever are infinitely higher. As a spot up shooter, Russ shot just 33.8% and ranked in the 21st percentile (not good!) last year. Catch & Shoots? Just 33.3% and the 49th percentile. In the midrange? 35.3%. You can kind of see where I'm going, and it's not great.

Perhaps that shooting production is part of the reason why he remains unsigned, but to spinzone that quickly, at least he's working on his weaknesses. If you can improve your jumper while shooting on a yacht as you deal with all those elements, maybe that translates onto an NBA court? No? Maybe? 

Look, for a player who has had a first ballot HOF career (not a debate) and has made over $348M in basketball contract money alone, I don't think anyone could fault Westbrook if he decided to just hang it up after the last 17 years and spend this summer as a kick off to his retirement. The fact that he's still clearly putting in the extra work to improve his craft is commendable, and certainly not what I would be doing if I were in his shoes.

Then again, that's probably a large reason as to why I do not have my own mega yacht and instead I'm blogging about his. Advantage, Russ.