The Sacramento Kings are on just their second two-game win streak of this season after a 124-112 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Golden 1 Center on Monday. They had previously beaten the Houston Rockets 111-98 on Sunday, and these are, of course, two of Kings guard Russell Westbrook’s former teams.
Westbrook was asked postgame if he gets up for these games against the Lakers and Rockets and admitted he does get some enjoyment from taking them down.
“I play the same way every night, but I do enjoy beating teams that I was formerly at, for different reasons,” Westbrook said. “Tonight was different reasons. Houston was a different reason. So definitely enjoy taking care of business against him.”
We all know just how badly Westbrook’s time with the Lakers ended, but all wasn’t well when he and the Rockets parted ways either. He had arrived in Houston in 2019 via a trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder, but wanted out just a year later.
Westbrook supposedly wasn’t too happy with the team’s culture and how he was being asked to play. The Rockets granted his wish to go elsewhere by sending him to the Washington Wizards in 2020.
Westbrook was only with the Wizards for a year when the Lakers decided to acquire him in 2021. They believed in a Big 3 of him, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis, but the outside world sure didn’t. It looked like a bad fit, and that proved to be the case.
The Lakers and Westbrook would be together just for a season and a half. He found himself coming off the bench at the start of his second season and was eventually traded away in February 2023. Not long after, Westbrook was labeled as a vampire in that Lakers locker room. Much of the blame for the team’s struggles was also put on him.
You knew Westbrook was going to have just that little bit extra motivation whenever he faced the Lakers after all this. Despite that being the case, his teams haven’t done that well.
This win saw Westbrook improve to 5-7 against the Lakers since their ugly divorce. The Kings had lost the first two games between the teams this season and ensured they didn’t lose the season series with this victory.
Westbrook had 22 points (8-16 FG), five rebounds, seven assists, and one steal against the Lakers here. It’s just the second time that he has managed to hit the 20-point mark against his former team in these 12 meetings.
As for the Rockets, Westbrook has a 10-4 record against them since they went their separate ways in 2020. The nine-time All-Star had 15 points (6-12 FG), six rebounds, 10 assists, and one steal in the latest win. Thanks to that result, the Kings are 2-1 against the Rockets this season and will be looking to win the season series when the teams face off for the final time on Feb. 25.
To go with the Kings, Rockets, Lakers, Thunder, and Wizards, Westbrook also played for the Los Angeles Clippers and the Denver Nuggets. The 37-year-old doesn’t have much love for the Clippers or Nuggets.
Westbrook has called out the Lakers and Clippers for not putting him in a position to succeed. He also explained that he didn’t return to the Nuggets for this season because they didn’t want him back, and he wasn’t going to a place where he wasn’t wanted.
The Thunder and the Wizards seem like the only teams with which Westbrook departed on good terms. You wonder how this stint with the Kings is going to end.
The Kings improved to 10-30 with this win against the Lakers and will take on the New York Knicks next at Golden 1 Center on Wednesday at 10 PM ET.
