Russell Westbrook dishes out assists to families, kids in hometown LA

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (KABC) -- Two nights after dishing out 12 assists in a win against the Lakers, Thunder guard Russell Westbrook was assisting others in his hometown of Los Angeles.

Westbrook opened his 20th reading room Friday at Highland Elementary in Inglewood, and announced nine more reading rooms would be opening up in L.A.

On Tuesday, he surprised a family with a donation of the Kia he won as the MVP of the 2016 NBA All-Star Game.

Westbrook, also the NBA's MVP for the 2016-17 season, grew up in Southern California and played basketball at UCLA.

The former Bruin talked about the importance of giving back to his community.

"The basketball stuff, that comes and goes," he said. "But for me it has always been about giving back to the community. Being able to come back to my hometown of Los Angeles and fill classrooms with books and give a car to a family in need, that is a true blessing."

Westbrook launched his Why Not? Foundation in 2012, with a mission to help at-risk children.

Russell's Reading Room promotes literacy for children in Oklahoma and Los Angeles by providing them access to books and a safe environment to read.