Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Passion Play: Russell Westbrook’ on Showtime, An Insider Look At — And By — The NBA’s Most Polarizing Point Guard

If you’ve watched any basketball in the last 15 years, you know Russell Westbrook, the man at the center of Passion Play: Russell Westbrook, a new feature-length documentary debuting on Showtime. The movie offers an insider’s perspective on the polarizing point guard, a man who has reshaped the record book while keeping his inner life largely hidden from the public’s view. Westbrook stars, but brings in many figures from his past to help tell the story of his journey from undersized kid to perennial All-Star.

PASSION PLAY: RUSSELL WESTBROOK: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Russell Westbrook is one of the most prolific players in today’s NBA—a nine-team All-NBA team selection, a former MVP, and one of only two players in history to average a triple-double over the course of a full season. He’s also one of the most polarizing; he’s derided as an inefficient stats-chaser, a player who messes up game plans and can’t win a championship. Despite historically eye-popping statistics season after season, Westbrook’s bounced around lately; after an 11-season run with the Oklahoma City Thunder, his upcoming season with the Los Angeles Lakers will mark his third new team in three seasons. He drives opposing fans and talking heads nuts, but he plays with a remarkable energy and passion in each game. Still, few know the man behind the game, and in this new, autobiographical documentary, Westbrook seeks to tell his side of the story.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: It’s hard to talk about any basketball documentary lately without talking about The Last Dance, but the comparison is especially apt here: while the 10-part ESPN miniseries was purportedly about the Chicago Bulls, it was mostly Michael Jordan telling the story of Michael Jordan. On a smaller scale, that same dynamic is at play here: this is Russell Westbrook on Russell Westbrook.

Performance Worth Watching: While the backbone of the documentary is Westbrook himself, some truly enlightening perspective is offered in interviews with the star’s father, who’s clearly responsible for instilling a fierce work ethic, fiery competitiveness and utter fearlessness in his son, going so far as to keep his own stats during youth basketball games.

Memorable Dialogue: “I think people don’t really understand who I am,” Westbrook intones, after an opening montage of sports-media talking heads debating him, “and a lot of that is because of what I let people see, and what I don’t let them see. I think in the sports world, I am the bad guy—I’m the easy target because of the way I play the game.”

Sex and Skin: None.

Our Take: You could build a pretty compelling superteam simply from former teammates of Russell Westbrook. He played with All-Star and NBA champion Kevin Love at UCLA, then future MVPs Kevin Durant and James Harden in Oklahoma City (and the latter again in Houston). He teamed up with three-time All-Star Bradley Beal in Washington this past season, and he’ll join forces with one of the league’s all-time greats in LeBron James (not to mention Anthony Davis) this season with the Lakers. Despite this murderer’s row of teammates, Westbrook is almost never overshadowed, and when he’s the lead dog, he’s unstoppable: in 2016-17, he averaged a triple-double for the entire season, something accomplished only one other time in league history, by Oscar Robertson in 1962. How do you follow up a historic achievement like that? Well, he did it again, three more times in the next four years.

Paradoxically, this massive production is often held against him; he’s derided as an inefficient player, a bad shooter, a player who doesn’t fit into a cohesive system. Some openly question if it’s possible to win a championship with him running point. Beyond that, Westbrook can be prickly; he’s tight-lipped with the media, often clashes with opposing fans, and seems to confound coaches and GMs who don’t seem to know what to do with his obviously immense but utterly unique set of skills.

Passion Play: Russell Westbrook is crafted as an answer to all of this.

The documentary, though clearly one-sided—Westbrook stars in it and is an executive producer—works to contextualize and humanize the man behind the game, and it largely succeeds.

It follows him from his early days growing up in Southern California, playing in youth leagues and pick-up games. His father worked hard to instill competitiveness in him, a competitiveness he would need to make up for his relatively small size; though Westbrook stands 6’-3” as a pro, he entered high school with a slight 5’-8” frame, a hindrance if he was going to realize his dreams of playing big-time ball. This was a dream he shared with his best friend Khelcey Barrs—the two talked often of their desire to play together in college at UCLA, a dream only one of them would have a chance to realize. Barrs died suddenly of an undiagnosed heart condition while playing a pick-up basketball game in 2004, and the loss of his friend clearly still weighs on Westbrook to this day. After this tragedy, he was more focused than ever, and a senior-year growth spurt gave him the size he’d need to compete at higher levels. He played two seasons in college at UCLA, the Bruins making the final four both years, before leaving early for the NBA draft; he was the first draft pick made by the newly-rechristened Oklahoma City Thunder, and joined a talented squad with future all-NBAers Kevin Durant and James Harden; steadily improved and made the Finals in his fourth season.

The only thing missing is a championship ring, something he’s got a real chance at on his latest super-team.

Speaking as a basketball fan myself, I’ve never known quite what to make of Westbrook; I enjoy him where many others don’t; his undeniable energy on the court is a joy to watch. But I’ve found myself questioning his success, too, as he’s morphed from a key part in a Big Three to a numbers monster on bad teams. He’s entering one of the most interesting situations he’s ever been in this coming year, joining LeBron and Anthony Davis in an attempt to get the Lakers back to the Finals after a disappointing first-round exit in last year’s playoffs.

With that intense spotlight ahead, Passion Play is a good appetizer, humanizing Westbrook in a way he rarely has been before.

Our Call: STREAM IT. If you’re a basketball fan, Passion Play: Russell Westbrook offers a rare chance to understand a player we’ve come to know very well for his exploits on the court and rarely off it.

Scott Hines is an architect, blogger and internet user who lives in Louisville, Kentucky with his wife, two young children, and a small, loud dog.

Watch Passion Play: Russell Westbrook on Showtime