Russell Westbrook went for a season-high 46 points in Thursday night’s win over the Washington Wizards, and it seems like his huge game may have been fueled by a perceived All-Star Game snub.
This year’s All-Star Game has a new format with the two top players in votes received are captains and got to choose teams. The draft took place in private, preventing fans from seeing who was picked first and who went last. However, the NBA’s press release on the teams listed the players in alphabetical order. That meant Westbrook was listed last on LeBron James’ team.
Joel Embiid was selected by Steph Curry for the All-Star Game team. He will be on the same team as Draymond Green and Karl-Anthony Towns, two players he's notably played against this season. pic.twitter.com/yhVK0GEyNG
— Jessica Camerato (@JCameratoNBCS) January 26, 2018
Keep in mind that the All-Star teams were announced before the Thunder’s game against the Wizards. Also note that John Wall, who plays for the Wizards, was listed one spot above Westbrook thanks to his last name.
Well Westbrook scored 46 on 19 of 29 shooting and had laser focus. Is that because he thought he had been picked last by LeBron and that Wall was picked before him?
Based on this video shared after the game, it sure seems so. (beware of bad language from Carmelo Anthony in the background)
Westbrook gets asked about being picked by LeBron. Melo yells to “Tell him how you really feel!” Russ says he saw he was last on the list and when we told him it was alphabetical, he yells at Melo “See! I told you!!” pic.twitter.com/sLcUXYmZzd
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) January 26, 2018
“I see that I was the last pick on the list … so I was trying to figure it out,” Westbrook told reporters, who assured him it was in alphabetical order.
Westbrook is at his best when he has a chip on his shoulder. The seeming All-Star game draft disrespect certainly provided that for him.
