Los Angeles Clippers point guard Reggie Jackson got the best of Los Angeles Lakers counterpart Russell Westbrook this past week, and their beef was reignited as the Clippers blew out the Lakers to complete a season sweep. The two went at each other in the second half, with Jackson dishing out some trash talk as he dominated the game.

There's plenty of history between these two guards. Both donned the Oklahoma City Thunder jersey to start their respective careers, with Jackson primarily coming off the bench behind Westbrook. That's where the beef began, and it has clearly continued to this day.

Russell Westbrook vs. Reggie Jackson beef history

Reggie Jackson playing behind Russell Westbrook

Jackson was drafted late in the first round in 2011 and played a small role in the 2011-12 season. Even with James Harden gone after the 2012 NBA Finals trip, it was tough for Thunder head coach Scott Brooks to utilize both Westbrook and Jackson simultaneously because their defense and shooting would suffer. Jackson did wind up starting a number of games in the 2013 NBA Playoffs after Westbrook tore his meniscus and did an admirable job, but the 60-win Thunder got smoked in the second round by the Memphis Grizzlies.

Jackson got a bunch of starts in 2013-14 as well with Westbrook only playing 46 games, but he was still mostly a bench guy even as he continued to blossom as a player. The competition between the two players resulted in a beef as Jackson wanted to be a full-time starter, and Westbrook publicly questioned whether that would work. There was also intense competition in practice, with Jackson describing Westbrook as “cutthroat.”

After OKC lost in the Western Conference Finals in 2014, Jackson didn't sign a contract extension with the club. The guard's frustration mounted, and it became clear he wanted out as he continued to send messages about his situation, which didn't help his cause with Brooks. The acquisition of Dion Waiters only added to the chemistry issues, with the locker room splintering and a Jackson freeze-out even happening during a game. The writing was on the wall for Jackson in OKC.

Reggie Jackson gets traded to the Detroit Pistons

The Thunder ultimately traded Jackson to the Detroit Pistons as part of a three-team deal. He finally got his wish of getting more minutes and having increased responsibilities as one of the key cogs. Even after finally separating from OKC, the rivalry with Westbrook did not end there.

Being in opposite conferences meant they would only face other twice a season, but Westbrook made sure to make a statement right after their first matchup as he replied “Who?” when a reporter asked for a comment about some impeccable defense on Jackson. Westbrook is never shy when it comes to expressing his brute honesty in his interviews, but that was a shocking insult straight at Jackson.

The beef continued in 2016 as Jackson propelled the Pistons to a victory. Westbrook took offense to Jackson's celebratory tactics  and called him out (via CBS Sports):

“Yeah I did,” Westbrook said. “I thought it was some real b——- for our team and our organization. I don't like it at all. But it is what it is. We'll see him down the line. We'll take care of that when we get there.”

…

“He wasn't changing nothing for us,” Westbrook said. “Obviously he didn't want to be here. He's at a better spot. He's not doing too much of a difference if you ask me. He's gonna stay over in Detroit. We gonna stay over here and we'll see them next season.”

Certainly no love lost there, and when the Thunder blew a 3-1 lead against the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, Jackson tweeted out an emoji showing his approval:

That summer, Nazr Mohammed revealed Russ refused to sit out a game against the Pistons because he wanted to go against Jackson. Then, in 2017, Westbrook played dumb when asked about the Jackson situation.

LA rivalry continues between Russell Westbrook, Reggie Jackson

After the constant shots at each other in Thunder and Pistons uniforms, respectively, this rivalry continues to stay hot with both players in Los Angeles.

With their numerous matchups this season, the entertainment level has been top notch. For instance, Anthony Davis converted an alley-oop dunk from Westbrook, but Jackson jogged down the floor against Westbrook and converted a game-winning layup over rookie Austin Reaves. The layup was not the only main topic of discussion, but it was the body language and skipping of Jackson that caught the eye of many. It seemed like he was vastly confident he would convert that bucket with Westbrook defending him in the last seconds of the game, and Russ made a key defensive mistake on the play.

That was just their second matchup of the season, and the Clippers then wrapped up their season series with the sweep. Jackson crossing Westbrook up and the words exchanged between the two after that just showed that these two are still bitter rivals with an ongoing beef.