In the aftermath of last year’s abysmal campaign, Russell Westbrook is trying to start fresh with a brand-new slate. So far, he has said all the right things and has even reaffirmed his loyalty to the club.
But, despite Westbrook’s best intentions, some of his behavior is already being scrutinized by the community in a negative way.
Most recently, some footage of Westbrook in a team huddle with Patrick Beverley and others drew the attention of fans online, who criticized him for ‘ignoring’ his teammates.
Westbrook was acting indifferently around the rest of the Lakers players, looking like nothing mattered to him and he was just interested in doing what was best for him, which priorly got him a lot of criticism from fans and media members.
Before the start of the game, Westbrook was all alone near the Lakers’ bench while the rest of his teammates were together in their pre-game huddle. He was just by himself and even after they left the huddle, Russ went to talk with the coaches and ignored the rest of the team.
Russell Westbrook Reacts To Backlash Over Viral Team Huddle Video
Truth be told, the clip isn’t a good look for Westbrook — but there’s no evidence he was intentionally ignoring anybody. In fact, according to Russ himself, it was all just a part of a pre-game ritual he does every single game.
“Pre-game, I’ve been doing that for years man. I think they just cut the video and obviously, the internet gonna take it and run with it wherever they need to run with it. I’ve been doing the same ritual since I’ve been in the league. So, I don’t pay no mind to it, honestly I’m just trying to compete and do my job… you can cut any video and make whatever you want out of it. It’s not up to me to be able to judge that.”
Russell Westbrook on the huddle videos.
(via @melissarohlin)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 13, 2022
Russ was clearly annoyed by having to even address this topic, but he shouldn’t be surprised that this is the situation he now finds himself in.
After last season’s awful performance, he has a lot of ground to make up if he wants to win over the hearts and minds of Laker Nation. Already, he’s starting on the defensive.
