Kings’ Russell Westbrook makes obvious admission about roasting Lakers

The Sacramento Kings haven’t exactly been a juggernaut this year, currently sitting at 10-30 on the 2025-26 NBA season, but they did have an impressive last couple of games, picking up wins over the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers in back to back nights. On Monday night, the Kings put 124 points on the board, led by DeMar DeRozan, who poured in 32, as well as Malik Monk, who dropped 26 off the bench to torch his old team.

It was also a strong game for another former Laker, Russell Westbrook, who scored 22 points in the win, and after the game, Westbrook got 100% real on his emotions after beating his old team.

“I play the same way every night, but I do enjoy beating teams that I was formerly at, for different reasons,” said Westbrook, per Oh No He Didn’t on X, formerly Twitter.

Westbrook’s tenure with Los Angeles was by far the darkest point of his future Hall of Fame career, as the Lakers cratered and missed the playoffs altogether during the 2021-22 season before ultimately trading him during the 2022-23 campaign. His time with the Lakers was marred by ghastly missed jump shots, to the point where fans at the Crypto.com Arena were actively groaning every time he got into his shooting motion, as well as a clear lack of synergy with James and his other teammates.

Still, Westbrook deserves credit for finding a way to continue to stick in the league over the last few years since that ugly breakup, currently providing some veteran leadership and solid production for a Kings team that has found a way to knock off some powerhouses this year despite their poor record.

In any case, the Kings will look to upset another tough opponent when they next take the floor on Wednesday evening for a home game against the New York Knicks.