LeBron James claps back at Celtics broadcast for comments on Russell Westbrook becoming Lakers scapegoat

Boston Celtics broadcasters Brian Scalabrine and Drew Carter recently suggested that Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook became the Los Angeles Lakers’ scapegoat when he played alongside LeBron James on the Purple and Gold.

“I am rooting for him to make like nine 3s against the Lakers because he got a lot of heat for that — that was a disaster team — and he got all the heat for that whole thing,” Scalabrine said of Westbrook. “So, I’m kind of hoping that he can make a bunch of 3s against that team.”

Carter reacted to Scalabrine’s thoughts in jest.

“You’re tellin’ me one of LeBron’s teammates became a scapegoat out of nowhere?” Carter joked.

Scalabrine responded.

“I know — it’s crazy, right?” Scalabrine teased.

James then took to X on Saturday morning and stuck up for his former teammate.

Westbrook and James played together on the Lakers for less than two full seasons. The former spent the entirety of the 2021-22 campaign and much of the 2022-23 season with the storied franchise before he was dealt to the Utah Jazz in February of 2023.

When the Lakers originally traded for Westbrook, he was fresh off a season in which he averaged a triple-double for the Washington Wizards, and many expected that he would help Los Angeles re-establish itself as a legitimate title contender. However, Westbrook never even played in a playoff game with the Lakers.

In Westbrook’s only full season in Los Angeles, the Lakers underperformed in a major way. The team won only 33 of its 82 games during the 2021-22 regular season and thus missed out on the 2022 NBA Playoffs entirely.

A big reason why the Lakers didn’t live up to expectations that season was that Westbrook was never quite able to find his footing with the squad. His fit — something that wasn’t entirely his fault — was a factor.

He saw his numbers take a dip across the board compared to the season prior with the Wizards, as he averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game in his first season with the Lakers.

Westbrook’s second season in Los Angeles didn’t pan out any better. He was relegated to a bench role for much of his final season with the Lakers, as he started only three of the 52 games he appeared in for them.

The 35-year-old is hoping that he will finally win an NBA championship with his current team, the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets won their first title in franchise history in 2023 and employ perhaps the NBA’s best player at the moment in Nikola Jokic, but Denver was eliminated in the second round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves.