The media has not been kind to Russell Westbrook this season, as he has struggled with his play and his shot ever since he joined the Los Angeles Lakers. The scrutiny is always extra high in LA and it’s been no different for Russ, whose family has had to deal with death threats and harassment along with the general ridicule that is directed at stars that underperform.
But things have looked up for him in the last few games, not only is he playing well, but the Lakers have managed to pick up 2 wins in their last 3 games. This has led to something that has been conspicuously missing for a lot of the season, Westbrook’s smile. And in his latest press conference, Russ was even more cheerful and wholesome, wearing and talking about a sweater that his son has made for him.
Russ describing the sweater his son made him in his postgame media is so wholesome ❤️
(via @NBA)pic.twitter.com/HjWxImDZRj
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 22, 2022
“My sweater, my son gave me this for my birthday. He drew this for me and he got it made for me, that’s a cashmere sweater. Must have got a lot of money, I don’t know where he got it from… (points to the drawing on the sweater) This is me, this is him, that’s the sunshine, the clouds. So he’s an artistic little kid so I wanna make sure he see it.”
Going from saying that he wouldn’t bring his family to any more games to showing off something his son has made for him in a press conference is a great sign, and it’s easy to imagine that a happy Russ will play much better than the frustrated one we have seen all season.
Westbrook has explained time and again that going back to his family after games allows him to shift his attention from the criticism he receives to the things that make his life great, and as long as his young son doesn’t make a habit out of spending too much on cashmere, the smile will likely stay on Westbrook’s face for a while.
