Westbrook Visits China, Talks Basketball
Russell Westbrook recently returned from a week long trip to Guangzhou, China, where he kicked off the NBA’s 24-city tour of the country as part of the fifth annual NBA Jam Van in China.
Westbrook participated in basketball activities, interacted with fans and signed autographs while on NBA business but took a safari, did some shopping and enjoyed some spa treatment when on his own time.
The trip was Westbrook’s first opportunity to travel abroad, and the Thunder’s point guard said he thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
“It was a long flight but I would say it was well worth it,” Westbrook said via telephone from L.A. on Thursday. “Going through all that customs stuff takes a long time. The first time I ever had to use a passport was when we played in Toronto.”
Westbrook said he gained an appreciation for a culture different from his own and felt it was important to give back to a Chinese community that is a rapidly growing part of the NBA fan base and its business relationships. An estimated 300 million people play basketball in China, which has produced NBA players Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian, Sun Yue and former players Wang ZhiZhi and Mengke Bateer.
“I think the main thing they’re trying to do is just keep them involved because most of the (All-Star) voting comes from overseas,” Westbrook said. “And in the Chinese culture there are a lot of different things that go on over there that we don’t know about. So it’s good for us to go over there and help them out and show them that we care about their support.
“It means a lot to me because watching the NBA (growing up), I never knew you could go across the world and see a lot of other fans that enjoy the NBA as well. Finally, I got the chance to go over myself and I’m looking forward to maybe doing it again and giving back to them.”
The NBA Jam Van is a 52-foot-long truck that transforms into over 10,000 square feet of free basketball activities and provides an NBA experience for fans of all ages and skill levels. The tour will cover more than 17,000 miles and travel through four municipalities and 17 provinces. To date, Jam Van has visited 34 different Chinese cities and reached more than 11 million fans.
Westbrook became the latest current or former NBA player to dedicate his time to the tour, joining Shane Battier, A.C. Green, Bob Lanier, Rick Barry, Glen Rice, Vlade Divac, Damon Jones and Robert Parish.
The tour continues to its fifth city, Nanjing, today through Sunday.
As for basketball, Westbrook also gave me an update on his off-season workouts, his plans to soon start summer school and shared his thoughts on the upcoming NBA Draft.
Q: How are your workouts going? What are you doing in the gym this off-season?
A: I’ve been working out every morning. I start school in a couple of weeks so I’ll be in school. But I’ve just been lifting and workout out again late at night, just getting myself right and trying to get prepared for next season.
Q: Any specific area you’ve been focusing on trying to strengthen?
A: I think just getting my legs stronger and working on my balance. Just strengthening a lot of things up. I don’t think I need to put on a lot of weight but just strengthen my legs and make them stronger.
Q: How about the time you’re spending in the gym with the jump shot? How’s that going?
A: I work on it pretty much every day and I’m continuing to get better, whether it’s spot-up shooting or off the dribble. One of my biggest things is just trying to be consistent.
Q: Who are you working with out there?
A: A guy named Rob McClanahan. He works out down in Santa Monica.
Q: What do you see in this draft? Who would you like the Thunder to come away with?
A: Honestly, I don’t know what’s going on with the draft. And you never know what might happen on draft night. But whoever the team picks hopefully he’ll be a good fit for what we’re trying to do as a team and fits in with our player personnel.
Q: Do you feel like there is a specific need that you guys should go after in the draft?
A: It all depends. I think we have a good amount of players that are capable of doing certain things. And during the draft, it’s always good to get a player that can help you in different aspects. Maybe it’s a big. Maybe it’s a guard or shooter. It all depends on what we’re trying to do at this stage. So it all depends.
Q: Do you just put your faith in Sam Presti to make the right decision?
A: Yeah, of course. Sam knows what he’s doing. He’s young, but he knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s not the GM for nothing. He’s been making some great picks and I think he’ll continue doing that.
Q: During the season, you, Jeff Green, Kevin Durant, Kyle Weaver and D.J. White talked about traveling to each other’s cities this summer to workout and continue bonding. Have you all had a chance to link up yet?
A: Yeah. Whenever Kevin is out here we will link up. And I’m definitely going to go to Texas or maybe D.C. sooner or later to be with Kevin and Jeff and see what Kyle and D.J. are doing as well.
Q: Anything else you have planned this summer?
A: No. That’s about it. Just working out and school. Nothing special. I’m waiting on summer league.
Q: Why are you scheduled to appear in Orlando but not Las Vegas?
A: It’s kind of like me going there just to support them and build chemistry with the team and whoever we draft and things like that.
-DM-
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