Russell Westbrook entirely bought into his new role when he joined the Clippers. Although he found success coming off the bench, his experience with the the team wasn’t smooth sailing. Former teammate Bones Hyland recalled a hilarious encounter when Westbrook wore his NBA Top-75 jacket to remind the entire team how great he truly is.
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When Westbrook joined the Clippers midway through the 2022-23 season, he slid seamlessly into the starting point guard position. His role eventually shifted to a backup guard following the team’s acquisition of James Harden a month into the season. Westbrook didn’t show any frustration coming off the bench, but he did regarding the amount of minutes he received.
Westbrook seemingly had enough of Clippers coach Ty Lue’s antics after he got just 10 minutes on the court. Bones Hyland played with Russ during his entire tenure with the Clippers and took to a TikTok livestream to tell a story about the incident.
“He said, ‘Yo Bizzy, they got me f****d up. I’m finna walk in this b***h with my Top 75 jacket on,” said Hyland while laughing. “He said, “I’m going to walk through here and ask these motherf*****s, you see this s**t?'”
Bones Hyland tells a funny story of how Russ told him he was finna walk into the Clippers locker room with his Top 75 jacket on after Ty Lue only played him 10 minutes one game
“He said yo Bizzy they got me fcked up. I’m finna walk in this b*tch with my Top 75 jacket on like… pic.twitter.com/USMcxGnQbO
— ɛཞą (@TheWestbrookEra) March 26, 2025
Westbrook’s reaction wasn’t a flurry of emotions out of the blue. Despite Hyland’s laughter towards Westbrook’s comments, the eventual Hall-of-Fame guard was dead serious.
The frustration had been building up over time. Hyland went on to add that Westbrook urged the coaching staff, “Stop playing with me.” The Clippers must’ve mistook his words and stopped playing Westbrook.
In the 2023-24 season, Russ had 28 games with only 10-19 minutes played. This growing trend didn’t sit well with Westbrook, since he was contributing when he did receive playing time.
As a result, Westbrook left the Clippers to join the Nuggets ahead of the 2024-25 season. His impact off the bench has been tremendous, as he has emerged as a key figure in Denver’s success.
Westbrook is a perfect fit with the Nuggets
There were many concerns regarding Westbrook’s fit with the Nuggets ahead of the season. He isn’t a prolific three-point shooter, which is a key trait for guards surrounding Nikola Jokic. However, he has formed a beautiful relationship with the three-time MVP on the court that even Denver couldn’t have predicted.
Westbrook’s ability to make the right reads off the ball has been a thing of beauty. The Nuggets love to run off-ball action while Jokic has the ball in the high post. Head coach Michael Malone has found a recipe for success involving Jokic to Westbrook on backdoor cuts.
Russ provides the Nuggets with an aspect they haven’t had before. He could be an X-factor, relieving pressure from Jokic and Jamal Murray come playoffs. A title will cement Westbrook’s legacy, and the Nuggets are certainly in contention to potentially add the missing hardware to the former MVP’s collection.
