LeBron James had nothing but praise for Russell Westbrook after his former teammate’s retirement. However, a lot of fans aren’t buying it, mostly because of how things ended between them in Los Angeles.
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During a recent episode of Mind the Game with Steve Nash, James called Westbrook “one of the most fierce competitors that the game has ever seen,” pointing to his resume as the triple-double king, an MVP, a gold medalist and a scoring champion. Then he talked about what it was like to play with him.
“I think one of the things about Russ that doesn’t get talked about is like the guy never wanted to take a night off. Wanted to play in every single game,” James said. “Being a teammate of his for that year or two, I think it was a year and a half, maybe two years in LA. He never wanted to take a game off. Never wanted to take a practice off. Great dude. You can never, it’s not going to be one person that played with him in the locker room and he like, man, he wasn’t a good teammate like, everyone raves about him, including myself. Kudos to him and that jacket, that Hall of Fame jacket is next.”
Westbrook announced his retirement in August 2026 after 18 NBA seasons. He finished his career as the league’s all-time leader in triple-doubles with 209, alongside a 2016–17 MVP award and nine All-Star selections. The Oklahoma City Thunder are also set to retire his No. 0 in February 2027.
The issue for many fans is that James and Westbrook’s time together with the Lakers, from 2021 until Westbrook was traded at the February 2023 deadline, was famously rocky. Westbrook’s fit next to James never worked on the court, and their relationship off it was reportedly worse.
Westbrook made his frustration public as early as December 2021, taking a shot at James’ repeated “Let Russ be Russ” line. “People are saying, ‘Let Russ be Russ,’” Westbrook said. “I think nobody understands what that means. I think people just say it.”
According to Yaron Weitzman’s reporting in The Ringer, which drew from his book A Hollywood Ending: The Dreams and Drama of the LeBron Lakers, Westbrook became frustrated with James during the summer of 2022.
Kyrie Irving had requested a trade from Brooklyn, and reports said James wanted a reunion. Because of salary-matching rules, the only way the Lakers could get Irving was by trading Westbrook, and Westbrook saw it as James pushing to move him.
At Summer League in July, Westbrook sat across the arena from James and never went over to greet him, then left before halftime.
However, the breaking point came in October 2022, two days after the Lakers fell to 0-3. Rob Pelinka brought Will Smith in to speak to the team. Before Smith arrived, James walked out of the room, and Anthony Davis followed. Coach Darvin Ham brought them both back. Once Smith opened the floor for questions, James asked one after another, stretching a 30-minute session into nearly an hour. Westbrook watched from the third row, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.
“I hate that fake s–t,” Westbrook told a teammate afterward, according to the book.
Fans Slam LeBron James Over His Westbrook Praise
Some viewers questioned James’ credibility because of the reported tension between the former teammates. One user, 4tunate, expressed that distrust, writing: “LeBron James really talks like a politician 😂, absolute great player but he’s a snake, can’t trust him.”
Others pointed straight to the trade saga. “He backstabbed Russ, and now he’s fake praising him. Low,” another fan posted, a nod to reports that James wanted Westbrook moved for Irving.
Some saw it as nothing more than polished PR. “PR answer. We all know LeBron didn’t love playing with this,” one fan replied. Another was blunter: “This dude couldn’t be more fake oh my god.”
However, not everyone was against James, and some felt that Westbrook fans were still holding a grudge.
“Russ FC still wanna talk shii bout Lebron smh,” one fan wrote.
Now, whatever the reports say, and whatever really happened between the two in LA, James’ latest comments made it clear where he stands when it comes to Westbrook. According to him, Russell Westbrook’s next stop is the Hall of Fame.