Nuggets’ Russell Westbrook sends NSFW message to Lakers fans after dagger

Russell Westbrook’s stint with the Los Angeles Lakers was less than ideal, to say the least. And while Westbrook is nearly two years removed from donning the purple and gold, the former MVP let the Lakers fans have it during the Denver Nuggets’ 127-102 win last night.

Amid a dominant second half during which Denver outscored Los Angeles 70-39, Westbrook hit a three-pointer, turned to the crowd, and yelled, “Boom, b—h!”.

It was the only made triple for Westbrook on the night, but he otherwise proved effective in 24 minutes of play; off of the bench, he tallied 14 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists, and a steal.

Saturday’s big win as a member of the Nuggets was Westbrook’s sixth game vs. the Lakers since the team traded him during the 2022-23 season. The first five games came with the Lakers’ crosstown rivals, the Clippers, with whom Westbrook signed after being traded by the Lakers to the Utah Jazz and reaching a buyout with Utah.

Russell Westbrook’s tenuous past with Lakers

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Westbrook was drafted fourth overall in 2008 by the Seattle SuperSonics, who would become the Oklahoma City Thunder before Westbrook’s rookie season. He found great success in OKC, where he won the 2017 NBA Most Valuable Player Award and earned seven All-NBA selections in 11 seasons.

After short stints with the Houston Rockets and Washington Wizards, Westbrook, a Long Beach native who attended UCLA, returned to Los Angeles via a trade from Washington to the Lakers.

The move, reportedly pushed for heavily by LeBron James, did not pan out nearly as well as the Lakers had hoped. Westbrook was criticized heavily and harshly for his play, and the Lakers missed the playoffs.

While Westbrook began the following season with the Lakers, he came off of the bench for the first time in more than a decade. Still, the team’s performance left a lot to be desired, and Westbrook was eventually dealt before the trade deadline.

Although it is still possible there are harsh feelings, both the Lakers and Westbrook fared relatively well after the trade; Los Angeles became one of the best teams in the NBA and reached the Western Conference Finals for the first time since winning a championship in 2020. For his part, Westbrook found a groove with the Clippers, although postseason success eluded him and his new team as a result of injuries to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

During this past offseason, Westbrook picked up a $4 million player option before being traded to the Jazz for the second time. He was quickly waived by the Jazz, clearing the way for him to join up with three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets on a two-year minimum contract.

So far with Denver, Westbrook is averaging 11.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 6.2 assists in nearly 25 minutes per game. Additionally, his three-point percentage (35.8%) is currently the highest mark of his career.

Westbrook and the Nuggets will next meet the Lakers, who have lost 13 of the last 14 vs. Denver, on Feb. 22.