The Los Angeles Lakers are undoubtedly one of the top NBA teams in history. Along with the Boston Celtics, the Lakers have won the joint-most NBA titles in the league’s history. Ever since the league started, the Lakers have time and again proved themselves as a force to be reckoned with. To date, the Lakers have won 17 championships and appeared in 32 NBA Finals.

The 2022-23 NBA season started on October 18, 2022, and since then the Lakers have played in five games. However, they lost each one of them. Moreover, the Lakers even failed to make it to the previous season’s playoffs. The team’s opening game was against the Golden State Warriors. Their losing streak began when they lost to the Warriors by a difference of 14 points. Stephen Curry’s Warriors beat LeBron James’ Lakers by 123-109.

After losing their second game against the Los Angeles Clippers, fans were eagerly anticipating seeing the Lakers grab their first victory against the Portland Trail Blazers. However, Russell Westbrook’s botched shot crushed all hopes. Consequently, Westbrook became the target of criticism and came under the media and fans’ scrutiny once again.

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Russ is undoubtedly considered a skilled player and an excellent guard. However, his one wrong decision and the Lakers’ continuous poor performance garnered negative attention from the NBA world. The Los Angeles Lakers are now 0-5 for the season, and thus even the unexpected news regarding Westbrook didn’t seem to surprise fans.

This season might be Russell Westbrook’s last year in the NBA

Sports Illustrated journalist Chris Mannix recently gave a startling revelation about Russell Westbrook. Mannix recently appeared on the ‘LeBatard Show’ where he talked about Westbrook’s current performance. The SI writer said that Westbrook needed to accept that he was not as good as he used to be. Giving the example of former NBA player Jamal Crawford, Mannix said that when Crawford realized he couldn’t be a good starter anymore, he settled as the sixth player and did great in the new role.

“You can show him that there’s plenty of reason why he should change but he just won’t do it. And as long as he’s being this obstinate, you know there’s a pretty good chance we’re looking at the last season of Russell Westbrook’s career,” said Mannix.

While it is just a speculation, NBA fans are not really surprised to read Mannix’s comment on Westbrook’s future in the league.

Here are some of the reactions from NBA Twitter:

https://twitter.com/TheBrowToLA/status/1586393456045424640?s=20&t=IA99BfXcDn-DFAi_g93vfg

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Do you think Russ will retire after this season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.