Russell Westbrook Gets Angry At Reporter For Trying To Split Up The Team With His Questions - Reporter Also Refuses To Give Up Mic Since He Has No Answer To His Question: “I don’t want nobody to try and split us up. We all one team.”
Did the same for the kings too. W russ
Idk that king’s team kind of does need to split up.
They could never get me to hate Russell Westbrook
Easily one of the best locker room leaders of his generation if not all time. Guy gets way too much hate for just being “inefficient” (he led the league in PER btw).
NBA reporters are such scumbags
Huh? No issue with what Russ did here but what are reporters supposed to do if not ask questions? Are they all supposed to just say hey Russell why are you so awesome and cool?
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Asking about why the team struggles with certain lineups on the floor isn’t a good enough question for you? What should he have asked? Hey Russ why are you so awesome can I have your autograph?
… the question was about the team struggling with Russ off the floor. It’s a basketball question with actual thought and analysis.
Genuinely, what kind of questions should reporters ask if this isn’t one of them?
Russ BB why are you so handsome the kinda questions these drama queen fans want reporters to ask.
am i the only one in here that thinks this is a fine question to ask
its a valid question that hopefully your own coaching staff should be asking as well
the questions premise does not imply they are not a “single unit” or try to turn the team against each other like russ is saying. russ’ argument is a strawman
You’re right, it’s a fine question to ask. But Russ is also right, he doesn’t want the team seeming at all fractured or this unit vs that unit in the middle of a playoff series, so they don’t want to answer the question. Both things can be true.
That question can be answered without making the team look at all fractured. Avoiding the question actually makes it seem worse.
That is exactly what I would want one of my team leaders to say as an a underperforming bench player
Realistically, how is Steve-o supposed to answer that question without throwing shade at his other teammates?
“we need to work better as a team to fill in the holes left while Russ rests”. Also like why doesn’t Russ trust Steve to be able to answer?
Haha OK you’re right, that’s technically an answer, but it’s an awful non-answer.
Whether it’s a fine question or not, they obviously don’t want to answer it so just move on it’s not that crazy
oh yea, i think both russ and the reporter were kind of immature here. reporter shouldnt keep pressing when its clear his question isnt gonna get answered. russ could express not wanting to answer the question less defensively and more composedly
I think Russ is fine here honestly. He can answer however he wants to, his job is to play basketball not answer interview questions with class.
As long as his answers don’t affect the team then it’s fair game in my opinion. He’s just trying to have his teammates back in this clip.
Russ wants the team to be united. He doesn’t want his teammates to be left holding the bag for their loss. He wants them to know he has their back, and won’t sit silently while they take the blame.
The reporter had every right to ask the question. But once Russ made it clear they weren’t answering, the reporter should have let it go.
This isn’t hard hitting journalism about some war crimes or something. This is entertainment news about men tossing a ball into a hoop. The reporter is taking himself way too seriously.
Yeah I fully agree with that
Yes and that’s true of the reporter as well. His job is to ask questions not be their friend.
It wasn’t a question for Russ lol.
Doesn’t matter
Well. I guess nothing really matters at a post game basketball press conference if you really want to get pedantic about it.
You’re not wrong.
Just don’t talk shit about you’re team/teammates
The reporter isn’t part of the team.
They can all speak freely lol
i mean this is technically true but couldnt this argument also be applied to the reporter then? “hes fine here, his job is to ask questions and get quotes from players, not be friends with them or have class”
and while its true russ can answer how he wants, imo players who tend to answer questions like this more thoughtfully even if sometimes cliche - like you see with guys like steph, lebron, wemby, jokic, etc - seem more likely to reflect their answers in their game in terms of actually trying to improve strategically in that respect
i mean its possible that westbrook was frequently like this with the media while being very thoughtful and tactical in the locker room. but just my opinion that didnt seem like the case throughout his career. i feel like its more likely he probably stayed fairly consistent in his perspectives externally and internally as he seems like someone who wears his heart on his sleeve. but the lack of self awareness could also reflect in his relative lack of playoff success as well, especially as tactical adjustments are crucial in playoff settings
Nothing wrong with asking the question. But Westbrook was sticking up for his guys, and good on him for that.
At a certain point, the reporter should have dropped it. This isn’t some life or death investigative reporting that you need to keep pushing for answers.
It’s absolutely a fine question to ask. It would actually be a shitty reporter who didn’t ask this question.
What’s the point of having a press conference if you aren’t allowed to ask questions?
Yep, Russ’s point was entirely a straw man and part of being a professional athlete is answering questions for the media.
It’s a fine question to ask. Kudos to the reporter for sticking to his guns. He didn’t really have any power in this exchange though lol.
Too bad Brick doesn’t play W basketball on the court lmao
Yeah, the Lakers have been doing so much better without him lmao
Went to the WCF without him the very next year lmfao. I know you like cheering for fucking losers though, sorry babe lmaooooo
How have they been since? Ohh yeah getting swept by my team 😂😂
17 championships. Now what? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
12* or you counting the ones when the Lakers were in Minneapolis 😂. But I’d do what you’re doing too and count rings that were mostly won before I was born if my team was in as bad as shape as yours for the foreseeable future, no picks, hoping an injury prone Luka can carry the Lakers to the WCF.
How many does Brick have? And how many will he win in the foreseeable future? LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Man I can just tell you’re one of those dumbass losers that just yells when he’s losing an argument. 5 rings Ernie!
Russell Westbrook versus Berry Tramel is one of the great battles our… or really any… era of history.
Does Berry still have a Thunder press pass? I haven’t heard his voice since Russ left.
Westbrook vs his own intrusive thoughts (on the court) is even greater
Username checks out
Flairless dumbfuck, as always…
You’re a thunder fan. You’ve seen it more than me. The numerous times he shot you out of winning games lol
Russ was a great guy
If I were a role player I’d wanna play with prime Russ
He’d get me paid too
Russ is 100% a great guy. Outside of basketball too. And an all time great—a first ballot HOF even if the basketball HOF was as strict as baseball is.
He’s also stubborn, quick to anger, and thinks he is better than he actually is, to the detriment of his teams for the better part of a decade now.
Duality of man.
What does this mean? At his peak he’s one of the best point guards of all time. At the end he accepted a role player role and came off the bench. He’s never had ego about his ability on the court, he just doesn’t like the media. And I wouldn’t either if I was treated the way he was
The dude is an incredible player, an MVP, and one of the greatest ever. I wouldn’t ruminate on character failings like the commenter above, but I do think russ’s style of play - aggressive score first downhill scoring guard - led to individual statistical greatness more than team success. He had a harder time fitting in on a team that was successful at the top echelons.
It’s worth noting that he fit in fine with KD on the Thunder and that was the most successful either of them have been outside of KD going to the best team ever. Those Thunder teams almost beat that best team ever. There was plenty of team success with those two. Lebron and Russ was always a wonky basketball fit, but he had some good other years. It’s a real shame KD didn’t stay with the Thunder. Imagine his legacy had he stayed with them. No doubt it would have been better even had he not gotten those championships with the Warriors. He’d be like Dirk goated.
There’s also a solid chance Russ has a ring if Scott Brooks starts Harden rather than letting Perk get a played off the court in 2012 finals (not likely, but a possibility), if Pat Bev doesn’t injure him for 2013 playoff and a lot of 2013-14, and if KD doesn’t get hurt 2014. And him and Durant took 1 of the greatest teams ever to 7. Yes his play style was problematic at times, especially as his skills-athleticism waned but in his prime he was a great and more importantly a fun player.
Yea, I think people who adopt the “he’s not a winning player” attitude just are forgetful how successful those Thunder teams were. He’s been a great role player on the Nuggets too and was okay on the Rockets though maybe not great. Sucks he stank in the playoffs for the Nugs. Though I will say, he was on the minimum and was kind of their most important bench guy at the time, so again, maybe not the biggest Russ problem.
Fuck KD til the end of time, he and Pat Bev
Sure! Wouldn’t be sating that if he was still there is my point. But yes, this animosity illustrates my point
he was one of the leaders of a team that went to the finals.
his game isn’t flexible or maleable to any team and he has one gear, but it doesnt mean he can’t win, but he has to play a specific way.
but like in DC, you give russ spacer and maybe a PnR partner, he is one of the biggest floor raisers in the game.
you take that way, he may struggle unless you want a spark off the bench
Nah, fuck that, if Pat Bev’s mom had just swallowed him back in the day, Russ and KD would have won at least one ring together.
His entire tenure on the Lakers was about coddling his ego. Darvin Ham was hired solely to be a westbrook whisperer and get him to accept a reduced role because his ego couldnt handle it. He was also a giant bitch to the media the entire time because he couldnt cope with sucking.
It’s not just ego, everyone knew LA trading for him was boneheaded. He had no playstyle fit with LeBron, it made 0 sense. It was going to be a disaster from day 1.
So why the fuck is he fine in Sacramento
There are zero expectations in Sacramento to be fair
I don’t see how that’s relevant
No expectations for him to win/do well, low pressure, no media to really deal with because no one is expecting him to do well so he will exceed expectations. Media isn’t gonna be giving him shit
Because the last 5 years have beaten his ego into submission. People change.
Wasn’t there a video posted literally yesterday of him refusing to check out of a game for LeBron James of all people?
The conversation of he’s putting his stats first before his team has been going on ever since he won his mvp. There are bunch of videos on YouTube that breakdown on why his style of play and his character won’t win him any championship. The video clearly shows how his teammates boxout for him so that he rebounds and forcing assists to reach his triple double.
Sounds like his teammates love him and his character.
Seems like it, at least it’s been widely reported that he’s quite beloved by his teammates. But I still think that his style of play won’t win him a ring. Well, it looks like no contending teams want to give him a chance anyway.
He was a terrible teammate in LA, openly defied the coach who he got fired and was described as a vampire in the locker room.
In his prime, I think he could’ve won a championship had they not got a few tough breaks as I mentioned in another comment. I just think it’s very unfair to say his character won’t win a title. He by all accounts seems to be a great guy and teammate.
Yes, as a role player he was never going to be ideal (though he was very good for the 2024-25 Nuggets) with his skill set. But he was a great #2 to KD for a long time.
I feel like this video does a great breakdown on his shortcomings, including his character. Brodie also has beef with his backup PG Reggie Jackson and Brodie was very petty about it which in my opinion is a proof that his character can’t mesh well with some types of players in the league.
Lol brother listen to smarter nba analysts.
Yeah and rednecks love Republicans. Doesn’t mean their actions don’t screw them over
Lol wut. So you know better for Steven Adams than he does?
Why the fuck are you comparing Russ to republicans 😭
Lakers fans didn’t like that he didn’t want to stick to the corner on the dogshit lakers teams that Russ was a part of
Were those teams dogshit? Yes
Was Russ the biggest reason, given his salary? Also yes
Was it his fault Rob pelinka gutted the team and left nothing but AD Lebron and Russ with no shooters or defenders? I don’t see how. They traded to get Russell Westbrook, not klay or steph
He was never a superstar though. He couldn’t be a number one option on a team.
To me he’s always been one of the greatest role players of all time. Had he had a chance he could’ve won a ring as a number two
He won a fucking MVP and carried dogshit rosters into a stacked West playoff. This sub is absurd
Of course he was a superstar lmfao
Ohhh wow I must’ve missed all his playoff success. His great MVP that he carried his team to the…. First round? Russ is a great player but saying he was a superstar is disingenuous. Super flashy fun player who was a star. He isn’t on the level on any other MVP the last 20 years
See my comment above re team success. But arguing that an MVP and 9x all-nba player wasn’t a superstar? C’mon man
Dude he played with Alex Abrines and Semaje Chrstion. Those guys were never heard from again.
Was a superstar. Was a number one option on a team. Damn you’re dumb as hell
Yeah because he had all that success with that team
He’s just sick of Berry Trammel (the insufferable reporter in the clip) like everyone else in Oklahoma.
This sums it up well. Like everyone he has flaws, which can make him tough to be around. He’s great if you’re a role player but probably not so great if he’s the 3rd option.
Basketball Hall of Fame is actually much less strick than foodball and baseball (not sure about other sports) Russ will in all likelihood get first ballot.
That is literally what they said, also “strick” lol
LeBron and his boys the only one that didn’t vibe with Russ.
This is cringe af, he trying too much here lol
Brick*
You can question Russ all you want. He was a fantastic leader and an absolute dawg.
A lot of the Russ hate is so forced to me.
Like yes I’m bias, Russ is my second favorite player ever, only behind D-Wade. Yes I know he’s not the most efficient shooter and yes he gets tunnel vision at times (even on defense) but like who else is gonna talk shit regardless if they’re up 30 or down 30? Who else would make some of the most violent dunks I’ve seen or just single handily will his team to a win?
I legit love this man as a player and leader. Him willing to square up with beef stew after LeBron cut him was hilarious but also indicative to who he is.
Biased*
I’d die for Russ idc
#0 will 100% be retired in OKC
It already is, and has been since 2019, they just can’t make it official yet.
It’s also a yearly thing for awhile now. Same thing every time after the NBA Finals -, draft a bunch of negative Russ content from years ago gets posted. He is shat on. Easy upvotes. Lakers fans by and large saying the same things ad nauseum. Dragging him. Rinse and repeat. There are some legit idiots and scumbags in the NBA who get less flak than Russ. But he dared be bad for the Lakers. So put him infront of the firing squad.
Russ isn’t infallible. All but one gimmick Russ fan on here perhaps knows that. But as you said, it is so incredibly forced. His teammates outside of a handful have nothing but praise for him, while doing his utmost with his missus for the community of every team he has played for.
Like you, I’ll always have time for him. He made the NBA fun.
just a bad contract with how he was playing + lebron…lakers fans absolutely demolished him.
It’s not forced. A lot of it is warranted, some of it isn’t. He has his moments, like he did here. Same way Draymond did with the Houston floods/rain reporter, doesn’t mean the hate against him isn’t warranted either.
No, its definitely mostly unwarranted and 100% stems from a “What have you done for me lately” ideology. As well as his lack of rings.
Russ is a first ballot hall of fame point guard, and is arguably a top 5-10 point gaurd of all time. Dude averaged a triple double for a whole season, three times. Been in the league 18 seasons. My guy averaged a triple double for the Wizards for gods sake.
For a dude that relied on explosiveness and athleticism that is a loooooong time to play in the league. For fucks sake he just averaged 15/6/5 for the kings at 37 years old. Multiple top 5 MVP finishes including winning one. Shows up in the playoffs.
It just feels like his media facing attitude has shaped public opinion on him when the reality is he’s a fucking dog and when he lost a step, it was just really, really obvious. Oh and he played poorly for the Lakers, that’s unforgivable to a lot of people.
People hate on russ for the same reason they hate on javalee mcgee. He makes boneheaded mistakes and seems to rely on god given athleticism instead of skill. Its annoying to see someone successful and feel like they didnt earn it. Career 30% shooter from 3, career TS add of -1375 is among the worst of all time. When his athletic ability faded he immediately became a bum unlike lebron who reinvented his game
I’m not a fan of him as a player but the media has done him dirty. They are always trying to start drama with him.
When KD went to the Warriors, every time he said something positive about playing for Golden State the media would twist it into an insult about Russ and the Thunder and then ask Russ about it. They fueled the “beef” between them.
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I have a question for Russ: Why was your defense fucking garbage tier for your entire career? Were you genuinely unable to understand defensive concepts or did you just not give a shit?
His entire career? He was fine until Pat Bev took out his knees lol, after that he just reigned it in due to having defensive specialist teams built around him. Even has some DPOY votes earlier in his career lmao, nowhere near winning of course but he wasn’t garbage tier.
Didn’t Russ literally win DPOY for the pac 10 in college? 🤣
you know ball, appreciate that.
jesus christ dude…relax. Russ carried a whole franchise for 3 seasons. Whatever he did in LAL under the money he was getting, get over it.
Especially when it was the LeGM forcing the Lakers to get Russ.
Guess you started watching basketball in 2021
Saturday is always a good day to touch grass, homie.
Russ really, REALLY hated Barry Tramel during his time in OKC.
Same guy who wrote the Mr Unreliable story about KD early.
Yup…He tooK Tramel questions personal BUT Russ left OKC and everywhere he goes continues to make every criticism constructive or not personal SAME with KD
It’s sad how much some absolute NBA legends get relentlessly shit on in this sub because they aren’t Jordon or Bron. Russ is an unique player and character who i will greatly miss when he retires
You’re acting like Bron and MJ are exceptions to this? Every NBA legend gets undeserved hate bc people are trolls
You see this happening a lot with Kobe for sure.
KOBE should not be getting the benefit of the doubt. That man was a rapist and he should be in the same tier as karl malone
I’m not here to defend a rapist, fuck Kobe forever for what he did.
But Malone is the worst of them all
I know it isn’t exactly what you’re saying but Lebron gets so much shit on this sub lol
What LeBron gets now is nothing like what he used to get. Before 2015 or so, his haters were very, very loud. Eventually it got to the point where you just look dumb hating on the all-time leading scorer in the NBA.
For real. People think this is bad? You should’ve seen the 2008-2013 ESPN chat boards.
You still got Colorado 2003 fans hating on LeBron.
I’m a “Jordan is the GOAT” person and I think LeBron hatred is pretty preposterous at this point. Just enjoy greatness while it’s happening.
Every NBA related subreddit that isn’t r/nba is still on that bullshit, 🤣.
It’s crazy how much hate Russ and CP3 get.
Fuck cp3, he deserves that shit. Dirty mf for 20plus years.
“You’re going missing me when I’m gone”
We’ve missed him for the past 5 years.
…or Bron? Lol
Colonel Sanders was outraged that Russ wasn’t letting him talk to founding father Adams.
I say, I say, I’m a gunna ask my question and get my answer!
There is a reason every teamate of russ says he is their favorite teamate.
There might be a guy who disagrees
I’m a huge LeBron stan but he’s no easy person.
Maybe most, but not every. The king and street clothes definitely didn’t enjoy him on their team
Well yeah, they wanted to win
LeBron? lol
it’s hilarious seeing the media talking heads say that kd’s number one reason for leaving was russ when even in his burners that got leaked he would reiterate that Russ was his favorite on okc and they wanted the org to get them both help
they’re all lying
This was that game against the Rockets where Harden had like 15 points and OKC couldn’t pull the win out because they let Nene look like Kareem Abdul Jabbar
Crazy how political reporters don’t have that conviction.
I mean this is basically how we got there. Reporter pushes back, non answer / next question, reporter suffers, see what type of reporters end up next conference
The funniest part of this is how whiny the reporter sounds when he said “I had a question for Steven!”
“F-Fine!”
I wanted that clip to keep going, homie had the tear in his voice over not getting his question answered lol
Sometimes the reporters want to create a conflict or controversial to make an interesting story.
Only sometimes?
They can’t make me hate Russ
Russell Westbrook is in a bunch of ads in New Zealand for one of our banks now lol
This reporter, Barry Tramel, was/is a complete boomer fucking dipshit.
It’s a fair question, basically about on/off splits for the team when Russ sits, and his response is really because Barry Tramel has always been critical as a local Oklahoma reporter, which I think is needed for any sports organization.
“Steven, why is your team worse when the MVP is off the floor?” I mean that’s really what the question is
Thats exactly what I was thinking. Id answer this easily with “Westbrook is one our best players. We are definitely better with him”.
No drama and you build your teammate up.
Russ treats local media the way 99.9% of them deserve to be treated for their rabble rousing clickbait bullshit.
Russell Westbrook is the realest human being in the NBA no fakeness about him, no politicking, he does everything at 200% and he cares about people around him https://www.vice.com/en/article/russell-westbrook-the-legacy-of-khelcey-barrs/
lol he’s also one of the most sensitive players in the history of the nba. Rocking the baby one sec then losing his shit over some scrub in the stands that called him Westbrick. Lot of passion but the dude is unhinged over the pettiest things in basketball.
Thats being real and human nature he doesn’t feign like he doesn’t care.
Good on Westbrook. That guy got whiney as all hell when he realized his question wasn’t gonna be answered, lol.
Russ keeps it a thousand.
This man is a great leader
Only Russ is allowed to split up the chemistry in a team, obviously
I miss these interviews. Man when’s the next Russ appearing? It feels like all of them PR now or some corny showcase of their cursing. Where’s the actual back and forth disagreements
Always respect Russ. Come to the pelican yo
I think Russ does get hard done by though he is a bit to sensitive to this question - it was a nothing question and he turned it to something.
Hate on Russ all you want for being a bricklayer. But he has always been 100% throttle
Love it, come correct or don’t come at all.
Prime Russ was some of the most fun I ever had watching basketball.
Despite how much his Lakers stint sucked, I could never dislike him. Man I wish he had a ring to cap it all off
All the praise the comments are giving this are almost as weird as what Westbrook said in the clip. On/Off is not an at attempt “trying to split [teams] up.” Basketball is a sport in which one person not being on the court can make a massive difference.
Westbrook’s paranoia is another reminder that OKC purposefully insulates its players and creates an us vs. them mentality around the team. It resulted Westbrook being frequently in conflict with media members and fans, and KD being famously horrible at interacting with those same groups and so sheltered he couldn’t understand people wouldn’t love him for going to Golden State even though he’d watched LeBron go through the same thing when he went to Miami 5 years earlier.
Maybe things have changed somewhat since those days, because SGA is top notch media-trained in every response, but the mentality still exists at the heart of what they do. Presti called social media a “sixth defender” for Shai to play against. Just a ridiculous statement.
But it’s why Chet can come back from his bad WCF showing—they’re insulating him as best they can from all the criticism.
They could never make me hate Russ.
“No I’m going to keep the microphone, Steven didn’t answer”
Adams is very clearly pointing to Russ the whole time, as in “here’s the answer”
Butthurt reporter
“Stephen your team sucks balls when Russ isn’t out there, can you tell me why the team sucks balls”
I mean next question dude
That journalist seems like a jackass
RW so easy to wind up.
What a bitch ass snowflake reporter
Love it when russ goes off on these bottom feeder scum
Bottom feeder reporter: you struggled when Russ went off the floor, why was this?
Like seriously that is an evidently reasonable question that wasn’t trying to split or drive a wedge in to the team.
It’s reasonable to ask “why does your team play worse when the mvp sits?” One of the dumbest questions ever.
Solid dude. And he was right about that burner man being a cupcake
Anyways. Love that nasa shirt by aquaman
This was clay sand and water before he became Brick
Not that I’m not enjoying it but what’s with the random Russ content tonight?
Westbrook is a fucking asshole who melts down over the tiniest things and his fans are actually mentally ill
i LOVE that Steven didnt say a word. just pointed to Russ and motioned to him like “nah bro you heard all you needed to”
Chad Westbrook vs Virgin KD
Just retire already. These old heads sticking around way too long.
That’s leadership, and you can see Steven following it. The reporter was so confused because he’s never played a sport in his life and doesn’t understand what’s going on like an entitled idiot.
Ironically, that is most often the demographic that is writing about sports. Go figure.
I was not expecting a comment about his scarf lol wtf