The Golden State Warriors were right in the middle of trouncing the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night when Nick Young made a 3-pointer late in the third quarter. Russell Westbrook wasn't happy seconds later. Young, ever the showman, stood in front of the Thunder bench after he made the shot and let out a shimmy.
Westbrook, ever the curmudgeon, was so unhappy at Young's happiness that he decided to shove him in the back as Young sauntered back on defense.
The exchange is immortalized in the video below, per Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports.
Russell Westbrook was not going to let Nick Young just shimmy all in front of OKC's bench pic.twitter.com/0YUqGKVIcY
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) February 25, 2018
After Young made the shot, it appears Westbrook comes out of basically nowhere to confront Young, who had no idea he was coming up behind him. Also, it's unclear whether or not Young reacted, as the camera cut right to Stephen Curry's reaction to Young's shot.
But reaction or not, Westbrook can't allow his emotions to get the best of him in that situation. He barks at opponents and engages in several demonstrable celebrations when his team is winning. But the moment the same happens at his team's expense, he has to shove people? That makes no sense.
Westbrook is quite popular for being very difficult to deal with, and he genuinely seems like a person who is not very nice. That's fine and all, but at the end of the day, it's just basketball. And with Young, there has to be a level of expectation that he will make some sort of scene that could rub someone the wrong way.
But Westbrook being petty in the way rubs fans the wrong way. Everyone is having fun and your team is losing. Let it go. But it's Westbrook, so that advice will most definitely fall on deaf ears.
The good thing is Nick Young is just being himself, and no reaction to Russell Westbrook or anyone else will change that.
The Thunder and the Warriors will meet again on Apr. 3 in Oklahoma City — the last time both teams will lock horns this regular season.
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