The NBA crowned Russell Westbrook as its MVP on Monday evening and, while there wasn’t a ton of mystery around the selection, that didn’t mean there was any lack of drama. Westbrook put together an excellent acceptance speech and included emotional tributes to his family and consistent acknowledgement of his teammates and the Thunder franchise. From there, the basketball world sent love in his direction and fun was had by all.
Then, Taylor Swift arrived and provided her own spin on the proceedings in congratulating Westbrook on his honor.
.@taylorswift13 sings Russell’s praises! #0urMVP pic.twitter.com/5HgKeVrMsi
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) June 27, 2017
Westbrook is a long-time fan of Swift, including videos in which he used crutches to pay tribute to her, sang along to “Bad Blood” in epic fashion and even took in a live show. This time around, it was Swift returning the favor.
The video tribute included a (fake) story about Swift teaching Westbrook everything he knows on the basketball court and even that Russ inspired “Shake It Off,” before the eventual admission that the two had never met. That doesn’t make this any less poignant, though, as Westbrook comes off as a legitimate super fan of Swift’s work and this is perfect timing for an interaction like this one.
Things went very well for Russell Westbrook at the NBA’s first-ever awards show and the night ended on yet another high note.
