Chicken-Fried News: ‘If I Could Be Like Russell’

Twenty-five years ago, the famous “Be Like Mike” Gatorade ad debuted with clips of the Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan scoring big and chugging the lemon-lime noncarbonated sports drink from a glass bottle.

Sports fans and basketball players big and small hummed the catchy tune, “Oh, if I could be like Mike.”

While the popular commercial played, a young Russell Westbrook was still a few years away from picking up a basketball and playing the game inside a community center gym in the Los Angeles area.

Now, a six-time NBA champion says Thunder point guard Westbrook is like Mike.

That retired player is Jordan himself, according to the Associated Press.

Jordan recently inducted Westbrook into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, saying, “When I watch him play, I see a lot of resemblance of his passion for the game of basketball, the way I played the game of basketball.”

Wow! Kudos to Westbrook for joining the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and receiving recognition from Jordan, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.

Here at Chicken-Fried News, we think Westbrook is pretty great, too.

He’s a baller with mega talent and has a big philanthropic heart for OKC.

In fact, Gatorade should consider revising the commercial. We suggest changing “Mike” to “Russell.”

“Oh, if I could be like Russell!”

That’s a song many would sing.

Print headline: ‘If I could Be Like Russell’

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