Russell Westbrook is one of the more emotional players who wears his heart on his sleeves every time he sets foot on the hardwood. Westbrook’s competitive and fiery personality recently led to him getting into a verbal altercation with an official. According to the leaked audio from Sunday’s clash between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Sacramento Kings, Russ let out some expletives after being fouled.
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At one point in the first half of the clash between the two Western Pacific teams, Russell Westbrook had control of the ball with Davion Mitchell guarding him. Playing one-on-one and taking it to the rim, Mitchell fouled the Clippers guard, grabbing his right arm. Even though Russ was eventually rewarded with the trip to the charity stripe, he was annoyed at the official Marat Kogut.
According to the 2017 Most Valuable Player, Kogut was the official closer to action yet, it was a different official, Dedric Taylor, that blew the whistle. Chirping at Kogut, Russ used some expletives. However, the official didn’t keep shut. Take a look at their verbal altercation:
Russ: “Make the call, you’re right there!”
Ref: “How many whistles do you want?”
Russ: “F**k that, that ain’t your call”
Ref: “You want 3? You want 3 whistles?”
Russ: “F**k is wrong with you? You didn’t see that sh*t?”
While Westbrook’s frustration is somewhat justified given the downright flippant nature of the officials toward potential fouls at different points in a game, the Clippers guard was lucky not to be slapped with a technical foul for the unacceptable language used. In fact, there is a chance that ‘Brodie’ goes on to be fined by the NBA just for questioning officials as much as he did.
The sixth man for the LA side proceeded to knock down both free throws. Further, in the 107-123 loss against the Kings, Westbrook scored 8 points on 10 shots and grabbed 4 rebounds but still managed to be the only player on the team with a positive plus-minus box score (+10).
Russell Westbrook has had his fair share of disagreements with officials
Russell Westbrook getting in a squabble with an official is not surprising. Over the course of his illustrious career, Westbrook has had multiple disagreements with the referees.
Back in 2022, during the athletic guard’s stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, Westbrook believed that he was fouled by Luka Doncic while attempting to hit a contested layup. However, the official didn’t see it that way. After the no-call, Westbrook was livid as he charged towards the official to confront him. As a result of his action, the point guard was awarded a technical foul.
Two years before this incident, during Game 7 of the playoff clash against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Orlando Bubble, Westbrook was rewarded with a foul. However, he was complaining about the actions of Dennis Schroder after the foul. Westbrook was extremely frustrated and was screaming at the officials – Scott Foster and Tony Brown.
Despite his rocky relationship with the officials and having a fiery personality on the court, Westbrook is appreciated for being a respectful individual.
