With just days to go before the start of the new NBA season, people are still talking about the team chemistry of the Los Angeles Lakers.
All summer long, critics and fans have wondered if the team would work well as a unit following the truly terrible season they previously had.
Things seemed to be going fairly well at the start of the preseason, with the team looking healthy and in unison about most things.
But then came footage of Russell Westbrook seemingly ignoring team huddles before and during a preseason game and standing by himself.
Russ speaks on the footage of him seeming distant with teammates. 👀 pic.twitter.com/V3t3HJcFIR
— theScore (@theScore) October 14, 2022
Westbrook later said his actions weren’t a very big deal at all.
“I’ve been doing the same ritual since I been in the league,” Westbrook said about not standing in the team’s huddle.
He would later defend how he works with the rest of the squad, saying, “I’m a genuine team player. I never had a problem being with my teammates and continue to do what I been doing.”
Is Westbrook attempting to paper over the incident and paint a rosy picture or is there really nothing to fear about the team’s culture and brotherhood?
Railing Against Russell
Fans of the Lakers were livid when they saw Westbrook resisting the team huddles earlier this week.
They cried out for the team to trade him as soon as possible, claiming that this was proof he’d never work well with the Lakers.
But Westbrook is now saying that it’s nothing to worry about.
Regardless, his actions look bad because they play into the widely-held belief that he’s not a team player and doesn’t work well with others.
This is the last thing that Lakers fans want to worry about as the new season kicks off.
NEXT: NBA Fan Sums Up Anthony Davis With One Tweet