Russell Westbrook career earnings: How much has Utah Jazz and former LA Lakers star made as on February 2023?
Russell Westbrook recently parted ways with the LA Lakers, who traded him to the Utah Jazz.
LA fans had seen this coming, as Westbrook's trade rumors never died down. While the player's fans are a bit disheartened, at least he could have a bigger role with the Jazz. He's expecting to make $16.22 million with his new team.
After the season concludes, Russell Westbrook will have total career earnings of $335.64 million. He has come a long way since his rookie year when he made his first paycheck worth $3.49 million.
Despite Westbrook's lackluster performances since arriving in LA, the explosive guard has made huge dollars. Russ initially signed a five-year deal worth $206.79 million with the OKC Thunder in 2018. So, the teams who acquired Westbrook via trade had no choice but to pay him even though his game was slowly declining.
Westbrook is currently making an average salary of $41.35 million per season. He is now in the final year of his contract and will enter free agency next season. Based on how his career has panned out since leaving OKC, it's likely that he won't be making as much money in the future as he once did.
However, given his resurgence in LA, it's possible that he could still make a decent amount in the future.
What's next for Russell Westbrook?
Russell Westbrook had a rough start when he moved to the LA Lakers. He initially didn't deliver as per expectations, making the LA crowd turn on him during the 2021-22 NBA season. Coming into the 2022-23 campaign, Westbrook promised that he'd step up and give his hometown the player they deserved. He did just that when he listened to the Lakers' new coach Darvin Ham.
Westbrook was humble enough to take a step back and accept the role of a sixth man. He became an efficient point guard by focusing on creating plays for his teammates rather than always playing the hero. As a result, his career had a resurgence in LA, and everyone was all for it. Lakers fans began to trust in him again, and he always received a huge pop whenever he was on court.
Unfortunately, Russell Westbrook's career revival with the Lakers didn't last very long, as he's now a member of the Utah Jazz. What does that mean for him? He can either do one of two things: either he pursues becoming the star of the Jazz or takes the experiences he learned in LA and help Utah win games efficiently.