Russell Westbrook is the proud father of three, and he and his wife just welcomed twin baby girls last month, so you’d be forgiven for thinking that Westbrook’s newest on-court celebration where he mimes rocking a baby to sleep was an ode to his growing family.
Alas, that is not the case. Nothing is ever quite surface-level with one of the petty kings of the NBA, a title for which there is heavy competition. After all, this is the same player who posted a seemingly innocuous picture of cupcakes to wish people a happy Independence Day that was later revealed to be a jab at his former teammate Kevin Durant.
Westbrook went on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday night (the Thunder are in the city to play Brooklyn today), and Fallon asked him to explain the origin of his new move.
Not breaking any news here, but Russell Westbrook is so savage. Here's the origin of why he does the, "rock the baby" celebration from his appearance on The Tonight Show. #Thunder pic.twitter.com/VqXyltNqkK
— Dylan Buckingham (@DylanBuckingham) December 5, 2018
Westbrook has been the aggressor on the basketball court throughout his entire career, and taking that to next level by taunting his opponents for their diminutive stature is perfectly in character, even as he jokes that “the guys guarding me don’t love it so much.”
If other guards are upset about Westbrook’s move, they sure have a funny way of showing it, as Westbrook has imitators throughout the league. Klay Thompson “rocked the baby” after posting up Tyus Jones recently, and noted Westbrook agitator Patrick Beverley did the celebration against the Thunder and later against the Pelicans. That doesn’t seemed to have diminished Westbrook’s enthusiasm for his pet move, though, and with the Nets on the horizon, D’Angelo Russell should be on high alert.
