You remember the rules of the game hot potato from when you were a kid.
The ball acted as a potato that was just removed from the pot, and you had to pretend that it was absolutely scorching hot. When the “potato” was passed to you, rather than “burning” your hands, you simply had to pass it to someone else as fast as you could.
Why are we talking about hot potato right now? Well, I’m going to show you a highlight from a preseason NBA game. But first, turn on whatever childlike wonder you have within you for a second, and imagine these two players are playing hot potato.
This moment between Russ and Jaden McDaniels 🤣
Russ really threw the ball back pic.twitter.com/HXsQV3b6Vg
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 13, 2022
After the Timberwolves scored on the Lakers during their preseason game in Los Angeles on Oct. 12, Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels tossed the ball back to Russell Westbrook so he could throw the inbound pass to his teammates.
But for whatever reason, as tempers flared, Westbrook decided that he didn’t want the ball at that moment. For my own amusement, I have to imagine that this had something to do with a very sudden but inescapable urge to play hot potato in front of a crowd.
McDaniels, even though he isn’t Westbrook’s teammate, was super down to clown. Within an instant of receiving the ball from Westbrook, he fired that thing right back to the former NBA MVP.
Westbrook wasn’t going to let McDaniels win at a game of hot potato, so he threw the ball to the Minnesota forward one last time before referees finally intervened — and essentially declared Westbrook the winner.
The Timberwolves won the game, but I want to extend a massive congrats to Russ, because he got the victory where it mattered the most.
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