Tag: Russell Westbrook

‘It’s like home for me’: Russell Westbrook talks warm welcome in Thunder’s win over Clippers

‘It’s like home for me’: Russell Westbrook talks warm welcome in Thunder’s win over Clippers.

As long as Russell Westbrook remains an NBA player, he’ll always receive a warm welcome from the OKC crowd.

That continued to be the case in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 134-115 win over the LA Clippers on Thursday. Even though he last played for the Thunder in 2019, the future Hall-of-Famer continues to be adored by OKC fans.

When he checked into the game, Westbrook received a loud ovation from a very active crowd. The 35-year-old had 15 points, 13 rebounds and four assists in 30 minutes off the bench.

When asked about his reception, Westbrook spoke fondly of the Thunder’s crowd and called them the best fans in the world when he talked to local reporters after the game.

“Best (fans) in the world. It’s like home for me to be honest. I grew up here and they welcomed me and my family with open arms,” Westbrook said. “They gave me everything they had every night, and I did the same and I’m grateful.”

The relationship between Westbrook and Thunder fans is a special one. After playing in OKC for the first 11 seasons of his career, the bond he built with the fan base will be everlasting.

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Russell Westbrook hit Chris Paul with the iconic Dikembe Mutombo finger wag after blocking his shot

Westbrook had an amazing tribute to a legend on this blocked shot.

During a victory over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, L.A. Clippers guard Russell Westbrook defended Chris Paul and blocked his shot.

Late in the second quarter right before the first-half buzzer, Paul attempted a jump shot 10 feet away from the basket. Westbrook quickly approached him from behind and was then able to viciously reject the field goal.

This was just the tenth block of the season for Westbrook, so it made sense that he would want to celebrate against his longtime on-court rival (and his friend).

But the celebration he chose was especially iconic as Westbrook decided to roll with the fabled Dikembe Mutombo finger wag after the play.

You can almost hear the “no no no no no!” coming from Westbrook’s index finger following this possession.

What made the celebration even better was watching the fans join along as the Clippers handed another loss to the Warriors.

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Russell Westbrook on latest fan altercation: ‘Any disrespect to me, my family, I won’t allow it’

Russell Westbrook said a line was crossed in exchange with fan.

Russell Westbrook is not unfamiliar with taunts from fans.

Over his various stops in a 16-year career, Westbrook has had several run-ins with fans, including in 2019 when a Utah Jazz fan earned a lifetime ban for what he said to Westbrook, who was still a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder at the time.

On Monday, that line was crossed again, according to Westbrook, who got into a back-and-forth with a home-crowd fan at crypto.com Arena during the Los Angeles Clippers’ loss to the Denver Nuggets.

After the game, Westbrook said it would be inappropriate to repeat what the fan said to him, but he added “if I’m responding, it’s a reason I’m responding.”

“Respect is a big thing that I value,” Westbrook said. “So, the moment that line gets crossed, I won’t allow it no more. I’ve stood for it for years, and now, my son is old enough to know what’s going on and asking me, ‘hey dad, what does that mean, or what’s that?’ Now I got to stand on it. And regardless of where I’m at or what’s going on, I’ll always stand on that.”

Westbrook said fans can say whatever they want, as long as they stay away from negative comments about family.

“Any disrespect to me, my family, I won’t allow it.”

Russell Westbrook is coming off the bench for the Clippers because James Harden refuses to change his game

Russell Westbrook was the Clippers’ starting point guard. Now he’s a sixth man again.

The Clippers haven’t had the best of luck since trading for James Harden. The team hasn’t won a game in the time since.

Not only are the Clippers winless, but LA has also been one of the worst teams in the NBA in that stretch. That’s not an exaggeration. Through the last six games, the Clippers’ -9.8 net rating is the 29th worst in the league. The only team with a worse net rating is the Spurs (-18.9) and that’s after San Antonio lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder by 36 points.

So, yeah. The James Harden era is not going great in LA right now. Something has to give. It turns out that something — or someone, rather — is Russell Westbrook.

Westbrook is coming off the bench to shake things up, according to a report from Chris Haynes.

While it seems that Westbrook might be alright with this transition from Haynes’ reporting, things might not have actually gone that smoothly.

According to another report from The Athletic’s Law Murray, the organization is reportedly one coming from the organization. Players and coaches on the staff might not totally agree, Murray writes.

“The decision to bring Westbrook off of the bench is not one that the players or coaches would have wanted. Lue wanted to establish Westbrook as the primary ball handler when he shared the floor with Harden, with Harden being the shooting guard. But Harden’s discomfort shooting 3s off of the catch became a recurring theme, along with his passive approach to scoring that led Lue to say Harden was being “too polite” after a bad loss Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies.”

Yikes, man. That’s not a great look. The Clippers are moving Russ to the bench because James Harden refuses to change his game and play without the ball.

He’s passed up open catch-and-shoot 3-pointer opportunities like this one.

Harden says it’s because he hasn’t gotten used to getting those sorts of catch-and-shoot shots after his time in Houston where he created everything offensively for his team. But this is different now. He has to shoot those shots. He knows it.

 

He just couldn’t do it. He hasn’t done it yet. Now, Westbrook’s role has to shift because of it. That’s not a great look.

NBA Twitter reacts to Russell Westbrook becoming sixth man on Clippers: ‘Benching was coming anyway’

Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to Russell Westbrook asking to come off bench for the LA Clippers.

The LA Clippers have lost five straight games since the start of the James Harden era and now Russell Westbrook has stepped forward by volunteering to come off the bench, according to Chris Haynes.

Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to the news.

PHOTOS: James Harden and Russell Westbrook over the years

James Harden‘s trade from the Sixers to the Clippers marks his third team-up with Russell Westbrook. The duo first shared the court in Oklahoma City at the start of their careers, later reconnecting in Houston for the 2019 season.

Take a look at both superstars through the years from playing together on the same teams to matching up against each other.

Watch: LeBron James snubs Russell Westbrook before tip of Lakers-Clippers game

Did LeBron James show Russell Westbrook some disrespect right before the start of Wednesday’s Lakers versus Clippers game?

On Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers hosted the Los Angeles Clippers, and it turned into a game with the type of intensity that isn’t often seen during an early regular-season game.

After the Lakers fell behind by 19 in the first half, they started to fight back in the third quarter, turning it into a competitive contest that went back and forth down the stretch.

The Lakers ended up winning 130-125 in overtime behind 35 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists from LeBron James. For the Clippers, former Lakers guard Russell Westbrook turned in 24 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and four steals.

Westbrook didn’t leave the Purple and Gold on the best of terms in February, and it may have been evident right before the tip when James acknowledged each Clippers starter except for Westbrook.

To be fair, Westbrook was at the far end of the court, so it’s always possible he was avoiding James and his other former teammates.

While there were times the situation between Westbrook and the Lakers grew heated during his time with them, more than one of his former teammates has come to his defense and said he was a very good and supportive teammate.

The two teams will play each other next on Jan. 7. By then, new Clipper James Harden will be up to speed, and it will be very interesting to see what transpires.

Q&A: Kenny Smith on why Russell Westbrook is underrated and running sand dunes like Steph Curry

Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith also spoke about his memoir, the Bucks and other topics around the league.

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Kenny “The Jet” Smith plays an integral role on TNT’s Inside the NBA.

The former point guard played a decade in the league and won back-to-back titles with the Houston Rockets. Smith, however, has arguably become even more recognizable for his time on television alongside Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson.

Smith has become a beloved figure in the basketball world and we can always expect some brotherly goofiness — like decking Shaq into a Christmas tree or getting his chair booby-trapped so he doesn’t win a race — whenever he is on the screen. Even though Inside The NBA can get silly, they also have incredibly thoughtful coverage.

For The Win recently caught up with Smith, who published a memoir called Talk of Champions earlier this year. Here are some of his most fascinating insights.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

RELATED: Ernie Johnson on life behind the scenes as the host of Inside the NBA

Iman Shumpert: Russell Westbrook wasn’t to blame for Lakers’ problems

Iman Shumpert explained why Russell Westbrook’s tenure with the Lakers didn’t work out.

A very short time ago, the Los Angeles Lakers were seemingly stuck between a rock and a hard place after trading for Russell Westbrook during the summer of 2021. Despite being expected to contend for the NBA championship, they missed the play-in tournament during the 2021-22 season, and Westbrook became the scapegoat.

He was an easy scapegoat due to his ultra-aggressive style of basketball and his personality. The situation developed to the point where the criticism seemed to affect him emotionally. However, a few people have pointed out that Westbrook wasn’t necessarily to blame for the Lakers’ former woes, at least not in a personal sense.

Iman Shumpert, a former teammate of LeBron James, explained why Westbrook never quite fit in (h/t Lakers Daily).

“Bro, he didn’t throw himself into this to get 20 percent touches and now he gotta be super efficient,” Shumpert said. “His whole knock has been he’s not efficient his whole career. He don’t play on efficiency, he play on heart.

“And now you gotta deal with Bron and them. They needed to play at a different pace. Bron needs to control the pace, push when he wants to. Russ needs y’all to have as many broken plays. A rebound happen, and y’all gotta deal with him comin’ full speed and you gotta look for Russ over your shoulder. You gotta deal with him doin’ that. That’s Russ’ game. That’s where he becomes a nightmare for you.”

On the Lakers, Westbrook needed to adjust his game and learn how to be effective without the ball, both in transition and in the halfcourt offense. He never managed to do so, although he often made an effort. Instead, he needed to be on the ball, while James needed to be off the ball more. This inflexibility, coupled with Westbrook’s turnover-prone nature and poor outside shooting, did L.A. in.

Ultimately, the team acquired D’Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt for Westbrook, two little-used players in Damian Jones and Juan Toscano-Anderson and moderate draft capital. That trade turned out to be the biggest reason Los Angeles became a legitimate championship contender by March.

Where Rockets rank in updated list of 77 greatest NBA players of all-time

With 77 NBA seasons in the books, @HoopsHype issued an updated list of the greatest 77 players of all-time. Here’s where players with #Rockets ties were ranked.

The 2023-24 regular season is the NBA’s 78th overall, which means 77 seasons are in the books.

With that in mind, our friends at HoopsHype recently compiled an updated list of the NBA’s best 77 players of all time, complete with statistics and information through the 2022-23 campaign.

As one might expect, the Rockets are well represented. Along with many All-Stars over the years, they had three Most Valuable Player (MVP) award winners: Hakeem Olajuwon, Moses Malone and James Harden. Historically, Houston is among the league’s top franchises.

Granted, the Rockets haven’t won a championship since Olajuwon led them to their only two in the 1994 and 1995 NBA Finals. But the hope is that could change in the years ahead. If it does, perhaps a rising star such Jalen Green, Amen Thompson or Jabari Smith Jr. might crack an updated version of this list in a decade or so.

For now, with the start of 2023-24 training camp only days away, here’s a look back at where legacy Rockets stand on HoopsHype’s updated list of the 77 greatest players in NBA history.