Stephen A. Smith stirred the pot with Russell Westbrook in recent hours after he criticized the Washington Wizards point guard following his incredible 35/21/14 triple-double on Monday night. Once again, Brodie made history but SAS wasn’t having any of that and expressed his real feelings on Westbrook’s performance.
“And here’s the thing about Westbrook’s big night: I don’t give a damn about any of it,” Smith said on Tuesday. “Because the Wizards aren’t very good. They’re not going anywhere. You’re 17-28 in the Eastern Conference for crying out loud. You’re not going anywhere, and this isn’t the first time Russell Westbrook has played on a team that has fallen short.”
After that, Westbrook and his wife, Nina, fired back at Stephen A., reminding him of all the success the player has had both on and off the court, which makes Russ happy and very satisfied about his NBA career.
“I sit back, I don’t say much. I don’t like to go back and forth about people. But one thing I won’t allow to happen anymore is let people create narratives and constantly talking s— for no reason about me because I lay it on the line every night. And I use my platform to be able to help people all across the world. Nobody can take that away from me. I’ve been blessed to be able to have a platform to do it. A championship won’t change my life. I’m happy. I was a champion once I made it to the NBA. I grew up in the streets. I’m a champion. I don’t have to be an NBA champion,” Westbrook said.
Stephen A. replied to Westbrook and his wife, praising both of them, demonstrating his admiration for Nina and how she stood up for her man but made it clear that he doesn’t change his statement and doubled down on those comments on Wednesday’s edition of First Take. The analyst reminded Westbrook of his record in recent years and how things went wrong for him in the postseason regardless of having incredible regular seasons.
“This is a sensational athlete. The most athletic point guard in this history of basketball, destined for the Hall of Fame. I said all of those things. But (Westbrook has) come up short. You were with Kevin Durant when you had a 3-1 lead and you lost it to Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. … Kevin Durant departs, we get on Kevin Durant for leaving you high and dry. The next three years you get bounced out in five by James Harden and Houston, you get bounced out in six, if I remember, by Donovan Mitchell, you get bounced out in six by Damian Lillard. … Then you go to Houston last year, and what happens? You fall in the playoffs, albeit to the Lakers.”
My full response to Russell and Nina Westbrook. pic.twitter.com/L4Af14a5KH
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) March 31, 2021
He then went on to say that Brodie is really great, he has done a lot of good things both on and off the court but the second didn’t allow him to get big contracts in the NBA. He received a huge deal thanks to his performances on the court and fans always want to see their favorite players win a championship, which is what Westbrook should aspire to.
Smith mentioned that every big legend says they’re sorry to never win a championship and apologize to fans and teammates during Hall of Fame speeches.
This debate is big in the league; we have players ring chasing, joining superteams to win a title and people get mad about it when it happens. However, when they are unable to win, people go crazy for their inability to get titles.
