Denver Nuggets Make Russell Westbrook Announcement Before Knicks Game

Gordon has been coming off the bench since his return from an extended calf injury absence. With the Nuggets dropping their last two games, Gordon made it clear when speaking with The Denver Post that he is ready to start again.

"I’m ready," Gordon said. "I don’t feel my calf anymore. Yeah. I’m ready. So it’s on the training staff and the coaching staff now."

These comments from Gordon led to Ryan Blackburn of Mile High Sports predicting an imminent return to the starting lineup.

"Yeaaaahhhh….that bench stint is gonna be over in the next couple games," Blackburn posted on X.

This prediction proved to be correct as Gordon has been named a starter for Wednesday's contest against the Knicks. That said, the team has announced that he will not be replacing Westbrook, who had been occupying Gordon's starting spot. 

The Nuggets announced that Westbrook will remain a starter on Wednesday with Christian Braun heading to the bench.

Braun had started each of the 45 games he had appeared in entering Wednesday. The third-year guard is averaging career-highs across the board, posting 14.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists per contest.

It was predicted by Blackburn that Westbrook would head to the bench once Gordon re-entered the starting lineup.

This announcement from the Nuggets that Westbrook will remain a starter over Braun has been met with mixed reactions. In the first 15 minutes after announcing the starting lineup, the Nuggets received over 50 replies on X. 

Westbrook has started 1,064 of his 1,208 career NBA games entering Wednesday.