Several critics and fans surmise that playing Russell Westbrook is a difficult chore. He takes bad shots, seemingly pads the stat sheet, and makes the wrong decisions. His longtime teammates Nick Collison and Steven Adams beg to differ.

As posted by KFOR reporter Nikki Kay, Collison defended Westbrook, saying that he’s been an instrumental part of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s success. The franchise owes much to him. He said, in part:

“When he got here, we were a bad basketball team. Then we got better, we’ve become a really good team for a really long time and he’s got huge part of.. he has a lot to do with that as much as anybody does. I love playing with him. He’s an all-time great to me. I don’t care what anybody said.”

Adams echoed Collison’s sentiments:

“As a player, playing with him — it’s not difficult at all. It really isn’t.

Below is the full video of the two speaking about Westbrook:

Nick Collison and Steven Adams address whether playing with Russell Westbrook is "difficult" pic.twitter.com/Y2lwjYHWg4 — Nikki Kay (@NikkiKayKFOR) April 30, 2018

The question comes in as an attempt to pinpoint what went wrong in the Thunder’s season. They were equipped with three All-Stars in Carmelo Anthony, Paul George, and Westbrook. They also had a superb supporting cast along the way. Some expected them to at least go toe-to-toe with the likes of the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets.

But a lack of chemistry among the three was apparent. To put the blame on Westbrook when the team is not performing well is easy. But basketball is a team game.