Russell Westbrook was the Los Angeles Lakers' fall guy for nearly two seasons. His play wasn't always good or made a positive impact, but he was blamed for nearly every issue in the team, both on and off the court.
The Lakers and their fans didn't actually value Westbrook; they only tolerated him. Then, their relationship reached a breaking point when LeBron James publically advocated for a Kyrie Irving trade.
Now, Westbrook is thriving with the Los Angeles Clippers and just got a major win over the playoff-hopeful Lakers. However, he refuses to admit there was some extra motivation to beat them.
Russell Westbrook Downplays 'Revenge Game' Win Vs. Lakers
“Nothing for me,” Westbrook said. “But it’s an important game for us collectively. It’s probably going to be an important game for them as well. So it’s just going to be a big game overall, making sure we’re ready to go. My job is to make sure us in the locker room are locked in and ready to compete.”
“It’s probable there is some more motivation,” Clippers C Ivica Zubac admitted. “It’s all about the team. It’s not about individuals’ performances, whoever, what you can get individually. It’s all about team performance. It’s about getting a win that we need. And that’s everyone’s goals. That’s Russ’ goals, just to get a win.”
Westbrook is a first-ballot Hall of Famer and should be respected as such. It wasn't his fault that the Lakers — who actually wanted him on the team — traded for him despite not being a good fit next to their stars.
Both teams are expected to run deep into the playoffs and could even face off again in the later rounds, so it would be quite interesting to see if Westbrook will sink the Lakers one more time, this time from the other side of the locker room.
