"They tried to ruin his career": Shaquille O'Neal makes bold statement about Lakers and Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook helped the LA Clippers rally past the LA Lakers 127-116 on Tuesday night and win their third game in a row, coming very close to the top of the West. This was the first win for the Clippers against the Lakers this season after two straight defeats. Westbrook had 16 points and six rebounds against his former team, and NBA Hall of Famer and TNT analyst Shaquille O'Neal had something to say about it.
O'Neal called out the Lakers for how they treated the former NBA MVP. Westbrook spent one and a half years with the 17-time champions without winning the championship and got traded to the Utah Jazz in February 2023 before joining the Clippers as a free agent a few days later.
"They tried to ruin his career," Shaquille O'Neal said, as Russell Westbrook and the Lakers had quite a turbulent relationship, with the veteran guard never fitting to the team's rotation.
Russell Westbrook once called time with the Lakers 'an experience,' but 'I am past it now'
Ever since moving to the LA Clippers, Russell Westbrook has barely talked about his time with the LA Lakers and his struggles there. Several months ago, he briefly addressed his time with the Lakers, calling it an "experience."
"It was an experience. I am past it now. I am in a new place, and I am looking forward to it," Westbrook said, via Law Murray of The Athletic.
Russell Westbrook never found his place in the rotation and couldn't build chemistry with the other two megastars of the team, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, as all three of them couldn't play off the ball.
He and then coach Frank Vogel tried to find some solutions, which didn't work out, and things didn't change when Darvin Ham took over. Westbrook became a reserve and was part of the second unit but never made a difference.
With the Clippers, Russell Westbrook is also coming off the bench, and the team has built some chemistry between its four megastars (Westbrook, James Harden, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard). Thus, the Clippers have recovered from a poor start and have re-emerged as a legit title contender in the West with 28 wins and 14 losses.
"For us, we're taking it day by day," Westbrook said Tuesday. "We've got so much talent, so many great Hall-of-Famers in this locker room and our job is to make sure that every night we keep chipping away."
The former NBA MVP has appeared in all 42 games for the Clippers with averages of 11.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists.
Meanwhile, the Lakers dropped below the .500 mark and are ninth in the West with 22 wins and 23 losses.