Three minutes into their game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook received a technical foul for talking to himself.
Out of nowhere, a referee tagged the former MVP a technical foul. Westbrook was clueless as to why he was given one. All he did was talk to himself. The eight-time All-Star tried to defend his case, but the official had no intentions of hearing him out.
Russ got a techâŚfor talking to himself đ pic.twitter.com/g939ZpsJDS
â Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 4, 2019
Despite the bad start, Russell Westbrook finished the game with 22 points, six rebounds and five assists. He also hit some big shots in the clutch which led to a Thunder win, 99-95.
No one knows what was bothering the officials on Saturday night. It wasn't just Westbrook who got tagged with a technical due to a harmless antic.




Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks also received a technical and got ejected for staring down Chicago Bulls guard Kris Dunn after a long 3-pointer.
Trae Young hits a 3 from the logo, stares down Kris Dunn and gets ejected with his 2nd tech. đłđłđł pic.twitter.com/nKHN7p88Ql
â House of Highlights (@HoHighlights) March 3, 2019
Staring down opponents has always been the way how players roll. It's just the nature of the competition. Apparently, however, the referees weren't having any of it tonight.
The same goes for players who decide to talk to themselves. In the referees' eyes, such actions are unnecessary and are deserving of a technical foul.