Since making his NBA debut in 2008, Russell Westbrook has been recognized as one of the fiercest competitors in the league. The veteran journeyman has carried that warrior’s spirit for more than a decade now. For players like Westbrook, there’s no ‘off’ switch when it comes to their mentality, and that was evident over the weekend.

‘Beastbrook’ was at it again on Sunday as the Sacramento Kings were battling Luka Doncic-led Los Angeles Lakers at the Crypto.com Arena. The visitors were trailing the Lakers 36-54 with four minutes left in the second quarter when Doncic drew a foul on a play.

The now-public audio revealed that’s when Westbrook tried to get in Doncic’s head. “Ball don’t lie,” he yelled as Luka missed his free-throw attempt.

With a sly smile on his face, the Slovenian retorted, “You’re down 20 talking…” This obviously did not sit well with the vet, who was clearly frustrated with how the game was turning out. “I can talk all day long, what the f**k are you going to do?” the 37-year-old chirped back. That was enough for the game refs to call a technical.

However, that did not stop Russ from going off at Luke and his teammates. “He was talking to me, f**k is you talking about?” he went on. Doncic was just left dumbfounded at his opponent’s temper flare-up and just chuckled it away. Luke Kennard, a new arrival in LA, intervened, trying to calm Westbrook down, but it didn’t seem to work.

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“I can say whatever the f**k I want,” Wesbrook continued. “Bro, I said ball don’t lie, and you said you down 20, and you’re still talking shit. I can talk to you however I want…he talked to me first.”

Ultimately, it was his Sacramento teammates who got Westbrook to cool down, but not before all this was caught on camera. The Lakers went on to win comfortably by a 104-128 scoreline, with Doncic grabbing 28 points. Westbrook ended the game with 14 points, shooting 6-16, with four rebounds and five assists. He also had four turnovers.

Russell ‘Beastbrook’ and his Competitive Edge Hitting Optimum Levels

There is a breed of hoopers in the modern NBA era that are defined by their fiery tenacity on the court. The legendary Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, and, more recently, Anthony Edwards and Ja Morant are among the players who make that list.

But Westbrook is right up there with these guys. The Sacramento star was in headlines last month when he was once again caught on camera taking shots at Houston Rockets’ Alperen Sengun. The veteran took offense when Sengun screened him on a play as the game was slipping away from the Kings.

Russ shot back at the Turk, “Illegal a– screen. Watch that dumba-s sh-t.” But Sengun continued to chirp back, and that was enough to push Russ over the edge. Anyway, the Kings fell to their 47th loss of the season as the Rockets downed them by 31 points in one of their most all-around displays of the season.

Kings fans will appreciate Westbrook’s competitiveness. But all that fire is going to lead to a lot of smoke. He’d better have the tools to walk the talk, or these blowout losses, and his verbal altercations could leave him looking like a sore loser.