Nuggets' Russell Westbrook gets warm welcome at Lakers home amid Liberty-Sparks

08/28/2024 11:40 PM

Russell Westbrook may have plenty of detractors due to his style of play on the court, but nearly everyone can come to an agreement that the Denver Nuggets guard commands respect due to his kind demeanor off the court. On Wednesday night, Westbrook received a warm welcome from the crowd at Crypto.com Arena — the home court of his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers — during the Los Angeles Sparks’ clash against the WNBA’s best team at the moment, the New York Liberty.

Westbrook was in the middle of some quality time with his twin daughters, Skye and Jordin, when the jumbotron in the arena caught the Nuggets guard during the “Look Who’s Here Cam” segment. The Nuggets guard then received plenty of cheers and applause as he and his daughters waved towards the crowd.

Russell Westbrook brought his daughters to Liberty vs Sparks pic.twitter.com/NVM8NXLrSl

— Natasha Dye (@natashadye) August 29, 2024

Russell Westbrook and his daughters are in the house for Sparks-Liberty tonight pic.twitter.com/7XXg2Lc4tN

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 29, 2024

Russell Westbrook is a proud girl dad, and what better way for the Nuggets guard to introduce his daughters to the game of basketball than by giving them an opportunity to witness the best of the best — with the likes of Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, and Dearica Hamby, among others, all looking to entertain a raucous crowd at Crypto.com Arena.

It is also great to see Westbrook receive this kind of welcome in the Lakers’ stomping grounds. As everyone can recall, the 2017 NBA MVP had arguably the worst stint of his career with the Lakers as he, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis struggled throughout the 2021-22 season and missed the playoffs entirely as a result.

To this day, some Lakers fans still have it out for Westbrook due to how far he fell short of expectations while donning the Purple and Gold. But it’s important to note that Crypto.com Arena was the Los Angeles Clippers’ home as well, and Westbrook, despite not having the best ending to his stint with the Clippers, is beloved by that team’s fanbase.

Russell Westbrook’s Lakers and Clippers stints both end in heartbreak

Coming off a historic 2020-21 season where he dragged the mediocre Washington Wizards into the playoffs, the Lakers had high hopes regarding the acquisition of Russell Westbrook. This, however, ended up being a major overcorrection. Los Angeles traded away crucial members of their 2020 championship team in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Kuzma in the Westbrook trade, and it immediately blew up in their faces.

Westbrook’s struggles in spacing the floor made him an iffy fit alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and the Lakers’ decision to gut their depth to bring a “third star” in made it difficult for them to surround the three with quality role players. It got so bad for Westbrook in Purple and Gold that the team had to demote him to a bench role in his second season with the team before trading him away. And after trading him away, the Lakers ended up going on a run and making it all the way to the Western Conference Finals.

Russell Westbrook, however, ended up having a new lease in life with the Clippers. The Clippers had more floor-spacing options available than the Lakers, and he looked to be the perfect fit alongside Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. His willingness to get down and dirty on the defensive end was quite the bonus. He showed in the first round of the 2023 NBA playoffs that he still had plenty of gas left in the tank as he put up as big of a fight as he could following Leonard and George’s major injuries.

Alas, Westbrook’s Clippers stint ended in disappointment; the team replaced him with James Harden and relegated him to an off-ball role, which spelled disaster for him in the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs. The Nuggets, however, are hoping that they can make the most out of Westbrook in what appears to be the twilight years of his career.

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