Lakers: Russell Westbrook Receives Lowly Spot in Top 125 Rankings

In a league as competitive as the NBA, you want to be at the top to be considered elite. For Lakers guard Russell Westbrook, that unfortunately wasn't the case.

In The Athletics' Seth Partnow's NBA player rankings for the coming season, Westbrook, who has been in a mix of trade rumors in recent weeks, was placed in Tier 5 of Partnow's top 125 rankings. Tier 5 includes players ranked between 85-125 (quotes via Seth Partnow)

"I weigh playoff viability and success highly. While regular-season floor-raising matters, lifting a team’s ceiling matters even more. As such, I try to envision that player in the role he would likely play for a contending team. I consider the whole of a player’s recent career, not just last season."

When looking at the big picture, being in the top 125 of the approximately 450 NBA players in the league still keeps you in decent company. However, for someone as fiery as the former MVP, it can be seen as motivation to get back to where he once was.

Westbrook joins tier 5 company with players such as RJ Barrett, former Lakers Julius Randle and Kyle Kuzma, Gordon Hayward, and other former Laker Alex Caruso.

Westbrook, who is slated to earn $47.1 million this season after picking up his player option, saw a steep drop in his stats averaging 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists.

For a Lakers team who struggled mightily and missed the playoffs, Westbrook and the team will need to step it up and hopefully it can translate to a higher player ranking next season.