Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook has had a rough 2021-22 NBA season.
LA acquired him with the intention of building a three-headed monster akin to the one the Brooklyn Nets boast.
Instead, he has underperformed badly – culminating in a particularly memorable exchange with LeBron James recently.
But it isn’t all bad news for Westbrook.
According to ESPN NBA insider Tim MacMahon, he is actually regarded as one of the most prolific trash-talkers in the NBA.
What makes him so strong in this particular area?
“I think he talks to himself out there,” Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard said.
Lillard was not alone in that assessment.
“Then I [saw] him when we played together; he’d talk s— to get himself going every night,” P.J. Tucker of the Miami Heat said. “It has nothing to do with you. You’re just a person. You’re just the guy. It doesn’t matter who you are, what you did. You’re the guy and he’s going to talk s— to you.”
Westbrook always wears his heart on his sleeve. You don’t get into fan altercation after fan altercation without that being a core part of your personality. As such, it’s not all that shocking to see it reflected in his trash talk with his contemporaries.
Christian McCaffrey had to cover Olivia Culpo’s outfit up because the airline said it was too revealing to fly in. https://t.co/YiT5xHe5IG
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 15, 2022
Trash-talking aside, it will be interesting to see where Westbrook goes from here. LA has talked to two separate teams about moving him, but to date nothing has come to fruition.
This is a make or break year for Westbrook. Either he will bounce back strong and remind everyone why he was once the league MVP – or the countdown to the end of his career will officially commence.
Related: Brooks Koepka’s GF Jena Sims’ Provocative Photos Spark Outrage
Charles Kruger has been credentialed to cover two Super Bowls, four NBA Finals, and one World Series. A 20-year veteran in the sports world, he has sources spanning the NBA, MLB, NFL, UFC and NASCAR. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Calif., he is Game 7’s go-to source for rumors surrounding the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers.
