Russell Westbrook

Leader of the new guards.

The Oklahoma City Thunder star is considered by many the best pure athlete in the National Basketball Association—his dunks are YouTube staples and Sports Illustrated called him a "free safety playing point guard." But Russell Westbrook was cut from his high school team as a freshman. Just a few years later, he was a third-team California all-state selection. He was part of two consecutive UCLA Final Four teams, and as a sophomore, played more minutes than any other Bruin in nearly 30 years. In the NBA, Westbrook was named an All-Star three times, a member of the U.S.'s gold medal-winning squad in the 2012 Olympics and only the fifth player in NBA history to notch 4,000 points, 1,500 rebounds and 1,000 assists in his first three years as a pro.

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