"Nobody over there has done anything in this league" - Russell Westbrook hits back at Minnesota Timberwolves players for their trash-talking against him
Russell Westbrook is having the hardest season of his 14-year NBA career. Westbrook and the LA Lakers endured yet another defeat, this time on the road against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Westbrook finished with 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting (41.7%) from the field, going one-of-four (25.0%) from downtown, even as the Lakers lost 104-124 at the Target Center in Minnesota. Westbrook also had three turnovers in the game.
One constant feature of the contest was the Timberwolves' players trash-talking Westbrook throughout the game. Patrick Beverley, with whom Westbrook has a running feud, had already added fuel to the fire with his comments against Westbrook a week ago. So it was expected that the Minnesota players would go after the 2016-17 MVP on Wednesday night.
Westbrook, for his part, remained unperturbed by the chatter. He told the media after the defeat:
"I honestly don't pay no mind to it... They weren't talking to me. They were talking to individual guys... Nobody over there has done anything in this league... They won a game, happy for them, [I'll] move on to the next one. That's that."
"I honestly don't pay no mind to it," Russell Westbrook tells @kylegoon. "They weren't talking to me... Nobody over there has done anything in this league... They won a game, happy for them, (I'll) move on to the next one."
twitter.com/RyanWardLA/sta…
Patrick Beverley responds to Russell Westbrook on Twitter
The matter did not end with Russell Westbrook's post-game comments. Patrick Beverey took to Twitter to get back at the 33-year-old superstar. Beverley tweeted:
"Playoffs every year. 2 western conference finals with 2 different Teams... individual stats or team stats? I thought it was a team sport??"
Playoffs every year. 2 western conference finals with 2 different Teams👀👀👀 individual stats or team stats? I thought it was a team sport?? twitter.com/legionhoops/st…
Beverley, of course, is referring to the fact that he has made it to the playoffs for the last three years in a row. He also made it to the Western Conference Finals with both the Houston Rockets in 2015 and the Los Angeles Clippers in 2021.
Russell Westbrook, it must be noted, hasn't gone to the Western Conference Finals with either of the two teams he has played for (Houston Rockets and Washington Wizards) since leaving the OKC Thunder.
As for this season, the Lakers' chances of staying in contention for the play-in tournament are in jeopardy, much less their chances of making it to the last two teams in the Western Conference.
Irrespective, the beef between Russell Westbrook and Beverley isn't expected to end anytime soon. The good thing, however, is that the Timberwolves and the Lakers will not be squaring off again in the regular season. This means a possible playoff matchup between the two teams is the only way we get the next chapter of the Westbrook-Beverley rivalry.
"I don't pay any mind to it. The trash talking doesn't bother me." Russell Westbrook on Minnesota's trash talking and how/if that could motivate the #Lakers going forward. @LakersReporter https://t.co/oiuP5brH3K