The Oklahoma City Thunder players and coaches met with the media for the final time this season on Thursday, following their 3-1 first-round series loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
According to ESPN.com's Royce Young, Russell Westbrook spoke for nearly 17 minutes during the exit interview and he touched on a number of topics, including his back-and-forth with Damian Lillard.
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In regards to his on-court battle with the Blazers All Star point guard, and the criticism he has faced since Lillard eliminated the Thunder, Westbrook told reporters (H/T Royce Young):
"It doesn't change much, man, honestly. If you want to determine my career and what I've done over two, three games, you go ahead. That don't mean shit to me. It doesn't. I'm going to wake up, like I told you before, three beautiful kids, I'm going to wake up and smile, be happy, enjoy my life. Doesn't change anything about - talk about if I'm playing bad or who's better, who's not. I know who I am as a person, and that's the biggest thing I can say about myself. I know who I am. I know what I'm able to do. I know my capabilities. I know what I've done. I know what I can and can't do. So I'm okay with that. I'm okay with who I am. I'll just be blessed to wake up every day and enjoy my life. The talk about - I don't even know what talk you're talking about, but whatever that is, you guys can keep talking about it, and I'm going to keep living my life."
Westbrook also spoke about criticism he receives in general, what he hopes to improve upon next season and more. When asked if this offseason will be different than others in the past, Russ quipped, "Last offseason I had one kid, this year I have three. No, it won't be the same."
Check out some of his other responses in the tweets embedded below.
https://twitter.com/_/status/1121459179389059072
https://twitter.com/_/status/1121459829254578176
https://twitter.com/_/status/1121457877582012416
https://twitter.com/_/status/1121457513839378434
https://twitter.com/_/status/1121457177129041921
