The 5 Most intense NBA players: Where Rockets’ Russell Westbrook ranks

2. Russell Westbrook

The Houston Rockets certainly have had some intense point guards over the years, from Sam Cassell to CP3 to now Russell Westbrook. The 31-year-old only knows one way to play and that’s all-out. Just this month, Russ has shown an ability to attack the basket against the likes of Anthony Davis and Rudy Gobert as if they’re just another pair of small guards in his way.

What makes Westbrook so intense is not only his passion for winning but his need to be the reason his team is winning. Russell wants the ball in his hands because he knows what he’s capable of and that, more often than not, he knows the right play to make better than everyone else on the court.

When there’s a loose ball, Russ has the mindset that he’s entitled to that ball and frequently is the one to come out of the pack with it. His ability to crash the boards with all the bigs inside is the number one reason small ball has been working so well for Houston after they traded away Clint Capela.

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Russell is not afraid to let everyone in the building know it when he makes a huge defensive play or throws down a monster dunk, which always gets the Toyota Center in a frenzy.

With such an intense personality, Westbrook has formed more than one rivalry with other players over the years, with the most heated one being against the man who earned the top spot in this list.

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