Previously unreported elements of a falling out between LeBron James and Russell Westbrook are coming to light.
An excerpt of author Yaron Weitzman’s book A Hollywood Ending: The Dreams and Drama of the LeBron Lakers that published Monday, Oct. 20 on the Ringer detailed alleged dysfunction within the Lakers during the summer of 2022, with tension between both players as the focus.
The Lakers had acquired Westbrook in a July 2021 trade, and the pair originally appeared to thrive in the partnership. The excerpt, however, indicates that Westbrook grew tired of James and his personality, alleging that Westbrook viewed James’ behavior as phony.
To illustrate that point, the excerpt recounts an instance when movie star Will Smith was invited to speak to the team. Per the excerpt, as players waited in a conference room for Smith to be introduced, James allegedly stood up and said, “Y’all got this” before leaving through a back door. Forward Anthony Davis then followed James.
According to the excerpt, Westbrook expressed confusion and asked if that meant everyone could leave. Patrick Beverley then supposedly informed Westbrook about the expectation that he and other players would need to stay for Smith’s speech.
“Them two guys can do whatever the (expletive) they want. They won a championship,” Beverley said, referring to Los Angeles’ 2020 NBA Finals victory over the Heat.
According to the excerpt, Beverley and Westbrook continued to argue about the incident, while team brass was fetching Smith. Then-coach Darvin Ham retrieved both James and Davis, before Smith was eventually ushered in.
The speech went on without incident, according to the excerpt, and players acted as if nothing wrong had happened. Then, when a question-and-answer period began, James reportedly took over the session, asking several questions, while Westbrook supposedly sat in the third row and watched in disbelief.
“I hate that fake (expletive),” Westbrook said to a teammate after the speech, according to the excerpt. “I just can’t do it.”
According to the excerpt, James had been pushing for a reunion with former teammate Kyrie Irving after Irving had requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets. Because of salary cap matching in trades and because Irving and Westbrook play similar positions, the supposed posturing from James rubbed Westbrook the wrong way. That, and multiple incidents, led to Westbrook feeling that James didn’t support him, despite public comments made to reporters indicating that James wanted to “Let Russ be Russ,” a phrase that went around during that time.
“People are saying, ‘Let Russ be Russ,’” Westbrook had told reporters in December 2021. “I think nobody understands what that means. I think people just say it.”
Per the excerpt, that comment was “a clear shot at LeBron.”
The excerpt also recounts how Westbrook was aware of James’ reputation for apparently misrepresenting his interests, such as claiming The Godfather was one of his favorite movies, despite later being unable to recall any lines from it or the time he claimed to have predicted the night Kobe Bryant scored 81 points.
The Lakers eventually shipped Russell Westbrook to the Utah Jazz in a three-team deal in February 2023.