Russell Westbrook Had A NSFW Reaction To Whether He Yelled Kyrie Irving’s Name At Shootaround

The Christmas Day Finals rematch between the Cavs and Warriors was every bit as good as advertised, complete with an eerily familiar crunch-time jumper from Kyrie Irving. It also featured a somewhat controversial play in the closing seconds where Kevin Durant tripped and fell before getting off a potential game-winning shot.

It was something that Durant’s new arch nemesis, Russell Westbrook, could take solace in if he wanted to, and when he was warming up prior to his own holiday showdown against the Timberwolves, at first it looked like just that. After sinking a three-pointer from the corner, Westbrook ran into the tunnel and appeared to scream out “Thank you, Kyrie!” on his way out.


The video immediately went viral when the Thunder posted it to their Twitter account, with most of the basketball-watching world interpreting it as a not-so-subtle jab at his former teammate Durant. Westbrook was inevitably asked about it during pre-game media availability, and let’s just say he wasn’t happy about that line of inquiry.

After muttering a few profanities, Westbrook went on to claim that what he actually said was “Thank you, Jayme,” a reference to trainer Joe Sharpe’s daughter. It’s entirely up to you whether you want to take him at his word, but nonetheless, it added a little extra flair to the NBA’s Christmas Day extravaganza.

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