Westbrook ready to help LeBron, AD: 'My job is to come in and uplift them'

Russell Westbrook is confident LeBron James won't have to do as much heavy lifting to drive team success now that Westbrook is a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.

"Bron is one of the best players to play this game, and his ability to be able to kind of do everything on the floor allows me to be able to just figure it out," Westbrook said Tuesday during his introductory press conference with the Lakers.

"I'm coming to a championship-caliber team, and my job is to make sure I'm able to make his game easier for him, and I'll find ways to do that throughout the game."

Westbrook has played with many All-Star teammates over the years, from Kevin Durant and Paul George during his time with the Oklahoma City Thunder to James Harden with the Houston Rockets and Bradley Beal with the Washington Wizards. But the 32-year-old has never been in quite as favorable a situation as he is now as he prepares to help James and Anthony Davis lead the Lakers in pursuit of a title.

Westbrook - who averaged a triple-double per game for the fourth time in his career last season with the Wizards - is set on doing all he can to maximize both James' game and Davis' production.

"Going into my 14th season, in each year, I try to find ways ... to be able to uplift and make my teammates better around me," Westbrook said. "AD and Bron are friends of mine first. And me being their teammate, my job is to come in and uplift them. They'll do the same with me; vice versa."

The 2017 MVP added that while there will be "ups and downs" as the season progresses, the Lakers' star trio will learn "how to play the best way that we want to play to be able to win a championship."