After hitting a three-pointer amid a big Nuggets second half, Russell Westbrook let the Lakers’ fans hear it
Russell Westbrook’s stint with the Los Angeles Lakers was less than ideal, to say the least. And while Westbrook is nearly two years removed from donning the purple and gold, the former MVP let the Lakers fans have it during the Denver Nuggets’ 127-102 win last night.
Amid a dominant second half during which Denver outscored Los Angeles 70-39, Westbrook hit a three-pointer, turned to the crowd, and yelled, “Boom, b—h!”.
It was the only made triple for Westbrook on the night, but he otherwise proved effective in 24 minutes of play; off of the bench, he tallied 14 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists, and a steal.
Saturday’s big win as a member of the Nuggets was Westbrook’s sixth game vs. the Lakers since the team traded him during the 2022-23 season. The first five games came with the Lakers’ crosstown rivals, the Clippers, with whom Westbrook signed after being traded by the Lakers to the Utah Jazz and reaching a buyout with Utah.
Russell Westbrook’s tenuous past with Lakers
Westbrook was drafted fourth overall in 2008 by the Seattle SuperSonics, who would become the Oklahoma City Thunder before Westbrook’s rookie season. He found great success in OKC, where he won the 2017 NBA Most Valuable Player Award and earned seven All-NBA selections in 11 seasons.
After short stints with the Houston Rockets and Washington Wizards, Westbrook, a Long Beach native who attended UCLA, returned to Los Angeles via a trade from Washington to the Lakers.
The move, reportedly pushed for heavily by LeBron James, did not pan out nearly as well as the Lakers had hoped. Westbrook was criticized heavily and harshly for his play, and the Lakers missed the playoffs.
While Westbrook began the following season with the Lakers, he came off of the bench for the first time in more than a decade. Still, the team’s performance left a lot to be desired, and Westbrook was eventually dealt before the trade deadline.
