Russell Westbrook's history of fan confrontations adds new chapter

"Now having kids and understanding how important it is, not just myself but my last name," the nine-time All-Star added, per ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk. "Understanding what Westbrook means, understanding how important that is to my dad, my grandfather, my family. It's very important. It's something I stand on, and the respect is a big thing that I value."

Westbrook added that he's "stood for (the heckling) for years," but now that his son is "old enough to know what's going on," things are changing. He said that his son may ask "'Hey Dad, what does that mean? What's that?'" and now the 35-year-old has "got to stand on it, and regardless of where (he's) at, what's going on, (he's) always standing on that."

Westbrook should probably take notes from some of his calmer teammates and avoid escalating situations with unruly fans, but the debates are often a two-way street as well.

During the Clippers' first-round playoff series against the Phoenix Suns last season, the two-time scoring champion had a verbal spat with a Suns fan at halftime as he was using a shortcut through a club area from the locker room to go back to the court.

After suffering an ankle injury during a May 2021 playoff game in his lone season with the Washington Wizards, Westbrook had a bucket of popcorn poured on him by a fan in Philadelphia as he was leaving the court. He was held back by Wizards staff and arena security to de-escalate the altercation.

During his final season with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2019, the 2008 draft pick was involved in a back-and-forth with a fan in Utah. The supporter earned a lifetime ban from what was then called the Vivint Smart Home Arena following the incident.