Russell Westbrook made his bed and now doesn’t want to lie in it. He’s spent his entire NBA career talking smack and getting into his rivals’ faces, now he claims he won’t tolerate further disrespect.
It seems like multiple players were eagerly waiting for his debacle to get back at him. And he’s been a shell of himself since the start of the season, giving them the perfect opportunity to just rub it in his face.
That was at a full display during their game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Pat Beverley and Karl-Anthony Towns just had a field day with him, mocking him and humiliating him throughout the whole game.
Zach Lowe Says No NBA Player Had Been Targeted Like Russell Westbrook Vs. The Timberwolves
That led NBA insider Zach Lowe to realize that no other former star ever had to deal with such treatment. Clearly, what the Timberwolves did to Westbrook was beyond personal, orchestrated, and premeditated:
“I’m still reeling from how much s*it they talked at the Lakers expense,” Lowe said on his podcast. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player of Russell Westbrook’s caliber endure so much targeted humiliation at one game from an opponent as he did in Minnesota at last night with Pat Bev holding his nose and calling him trash, with Karl-Anthony Towns spending like 9 seconds pantomiming searching for a breeze or some other reason Russ airballed the jumper. It wasn’t a quick pantomime, sometimes you see players duck and cover on the bench for a second. Karl Towns went in a full-on SNL routine at Russ’ expense.”
Westbrook Was Unbothered By The T-Wolves’ Trash-Talk
Westbrook pretended like he wasn’t upset about the Timberwolves’ comedy bit. Once again, he seemed to be unfazed and stated that he doesn’t care about trash-talking, although it’s evident he does:
“I honestly don’t pay no mind to it,” Westbrook said.“Maybe the other guys [do]. But they weren’t talking to me. They were talking to individual guys particularly, but the trash talking doesn’t bother me none.”
“Nobody over there has done anything in this league that would make me pick my eyes up, like, ‘Oh, they’re talking mess. Let me respond.’ No. It’s fine. They’re good. They won the game. Happy for them. Move onto the next one,” he added.
It’s sad to see such a talented and accomplished player like Westbrook go out like this. But the fact that other players take it personally speaks volumes of the reputation he built around his colleagues throughout the years. What you sow is what you reap.
