Russell Westbrook will be competing in his first Christmas Day NBA game without Kevin Durant and you can bet he’s going to be excited to make his mark. His former teammate lost to the Cavaliers earlier today in Cleveland and like most of us, Russ was watching the marquee game and probably loving it.
Oklahoma City’s point guard was shooting pre-game and the social media staff from the Thunder caught some of the footage. He receives the ball from beyond the arc in the corner and lets it fly.
It looks like Westbrook is still mimicking most parts of Stephen Curry’s rituals, except the results. The result of their earlier meeting where Kevin Durant got the better of his old running mate hasn’t discouraged him at all.
In the clip, some people heard Westbrook yell “Thank You Kyrie” as he sped off down the tunnel. But NBA on ESPN actually clarified that he said “Thank You Jamie,” referencing the daughter of Thunder trainer Joe Sharpe.
Still, you can't blame a few fans for thinking Westbrook was playing with the Warriors again. The bad blood between these two squads has increased over what feels like every day this season. If it’s not Westbrook outright trolling, then it’s weird veiled comments about OKC from Durant.
Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving hit a late-game fadeaway to seal the deal against the Warriors and Russ hopes to put on a show of his own against the Minnesota Timberwolves. You never know, he could mess around and get a triple-double.
If Steph and co. decided to steal some of Westbrook’s pre-game dance moves, we wouldn’t be mad.
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