Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook. Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Where Russell Westbrook goes, drama follows

By Sai Mohan | Last updated May 14, 2025 8:25 AM ET

ESPN's Ramona Shelburne dropped a bombshell Tuesday, noting that an anonymous Nuggets player called Russell Westbrook "immature" after the team lost Game 2 to the Clippers in the first round.

Westbrook and Aaron Gordon reportedly engaged in "a heated discussion," with the latter challenging the veteran about "his attitude." The report added that one Nuggets player felt Gordon was justified in calling out Westbrook's lack of maturity.

In the aftermath of Shelburne's report, Westbrook's wife, Nina, slammed the ESPN reporter for her "dirty work" and for spreading "so many lies randomly, for no reason, and with so much conviction."

After the Nuggets lost Game 5 to the Thunder on Tuesday, Gordon called the ESPN report "completely arbitrary, pointless and unnecessary" while praising Westbrook as a teammate.

"We're brothers," Gordon said of his relationship with Westbrook. "We spend more time with our team than we do with our own family. Of course, there's going to be disagreements. But that conversation wasn't for anybody other than our own group and the internal workings of our locker room."

Gordon then guaranteed Westbrook would help the Nuggets, down 3-2 to the Thunder, win the next two games and advance in the playoffs.

Asked Aaron Gordon about the game and he just went OFF on the @espn article that cast Russell Westbrook as a bad teammate.

Listen: pic.twitter.com/eXh3bzb4KQ
— Vic Lombardi (@VicLombardi) May 14, 2025

It's rather interesting that Gordon admitted to a locker-room argument with Westbrook, something the latter's wife denied ever happened. Still, he was right to suggest that the media or fans have no business being privy to a discussion, even if heated, between two teammates.

This is not the first instance of Westbrook being portrayed as a difficult teammate to deal with. During his infamous stint with the Lakers, an ESPN report labeled him "a vampire" in the locker room, and another said Westbrook "was killing" the team before he got traded. While his stint with the Clippers began more favorably, he became nearly unplayable by the end, logging barely 19.0 minutes in last year's playoffs before being traded for Kris Dunn.

His stint with the Rockets ended with drama, too. According to ESPN's Tim MacMahon, the athletic guard was "appalled" by the Rockets letting James Harden "call the shots" rather than building a culture. Westbrook was reportedly annoyed that Harden routinely was late to film sessions and practice. Ultimately, Harden was tired of Westbrook "barking" at him and got him shipped out of town.

Westbrook is a first-ballot Hall of Famer and a legend. But where he goes, drama follows. There's no other way to slice it.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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