Russell Westbrook says he played through significant leg injury earlier this season

Russell Westbrook has been reclaiming his spot among the NBA’s elite point guards these last few weeks. However, if you are wondering why he looked much worse earlier this season, it turns out he had good reason.

The Washington Wizards guard revealed on Monday that he played through a torn quad earlier this year, per Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington.

Westbrook, 32, who is known for his extreme durability, missed time in the Orlando bubble last season with a quad issue as well. Westbrook said that this season’s tear was to his other quad however.

The former MVP probably was not dealing with a full tear because there was no way any professional medical staff would clear him to play on such an injury. Those full quad ruptures can be devastating, as players such as Tony Parker and Victor Oladipo have recently shown.

Regardless, Westbrook says that he is healed now, and the results speak for themselves. He had an eye-popping 14-21-24 stat line against Indiana on Monday. Westbrook also dropped 42 points against Dallas in the game before that. The Wizards have suddenly stormed their way into the play-in zone, winning 11 of their last 13 games.

Westbrook’s feral athleticism appears to have returned as well, so now we can sit back and enjoy the ride.