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Damian Lillard and Russell Westbrook's on-court rivalry is well-documented, with the two former Western Conference foes duking it out in the regular season and playoffs several times. But the feud, according to Lillard, started to gnaw at Westbrook's then-Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Kevin Durant.
While much of the focus when the Thunder and Portland Trail Blazers played was on the back-and-forth between Westbrook and Lillard, including the famous ‘rock the baby' gesture they each did to taunt the other, the former Trail Blazers cornerstone said Westbrook would get so into the rivalry that he began to annoy Durant, a former league MVP who left Oklahoma City for the Golden State Warriors in 2016.
“He was the bully,” Lillard said of Westbrook on Jeff Teague's ‘Club 520' podcast. “It didn't matter if it was like a big matchup, if somebody was hurt and he was playing against the backup — he didn't care. He tried to do it to everybody.
“He would be shooting on me so much that KD would be getting mad, like, ‘Pass the ball.' He's shooting every time, and that's when it became personal, so I was being more aggressive back at him, and that's when it turned into talking. ‘I've been busting your a** for years!' And I'd be like, ‘Yeah, well it's a new time.' I came to the arena knowing it's on tonight. Something happening.”
What Russell Westbrook and Damian Lillard have said about each other
The Russell Westbrook vs. Damian Lillard rivalry was intense on the court, and the ‘rock the baby' taunt, like in Westbrook's feud with Patrick Beverley, always caught the attention of fans, media, and the players themselves.
Lillard talked about the gesture in 2019 after eliminating Westbrook, Paul George, and the Oklahoma City Thunder with an iconic long-range buzzer-beating shot.
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“He was doing that on jump shots,” Lillard told Yahoo Sports. “That’s not when you’re supposed to rock the baby. You rock the baby after overpowering someone in the post. He had one layup in the post on me. Look it up. I’ll live with his jump shots. He wasn’t rocking no baby on me.”
Despite their on-court battles, off the court, Lillard has often shown respect and admiration for Westbrook. Lillard posted a photo on Instagram of himself and Westbrook hugging in January 2020, after a Portland Trail Blazers vs. Houston Rockets game, during which he and Westbrook received technicals for trash talk.
“They confuse competing with hate when it’s ruthless vs ruthless,” Lillard wrote.
Lillard has also defended Westbrook in recent years as the former NBA MVP has received immense criticism for his play style, particularly when he was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. Lillard, who was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks last offseason, said that Westbrook was an “easy target” for criticism despite his legacy being “undeniable.”
“I do think (it has gone) to the extreme,” Lillard told Shannon Sharpe in 2022. “It’s almost like people just see something that they think everybody’s gonna agree with it if they just talk s**t about Russell Westbrook. So everybody’s just throwing their stuff at him. It’s going overboard at this point, in my opinion. It’s just crazy to me.”
Westbrook, who signed with the Denver Nuggets this summer, is set to make his debut with the team on Oct. 24 vs. his first team, the Thunder. The Nuggets and Bucks will only play twice in the regular season, first on Feb. 27 in Milwaukee and then on March 26 back in Denver.
