Russell Westbrook’s stint with the Los Angeles Lakers was less than ideal, to say the least. And while Westbrook is nearly two years removed from donning the purple and gold, the former MVP let the Lakers fans take advantage last night during the Denver Nuggets’ 127-102 win.

Amid a dominant second half that saw Denver defeat Los Angeles 70-39, Westbrook hit one three-pointer, turned to the crowd and shouted: “Boom, bra!”.

It was the only triple Westbrook made that night, but otherwise he proved effective in 24 minutes of play; Off the bench he scored 14 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists and a steal.

Saturday’s big win as a member of the Nuggets was Westbrook’s sixth game against the Lakers since the team traded him during the 2022-2023 season. The first five games came with the Lakers’ crosstown rivals, the Clippers, who Westbrook signed with after being traded by the Lakers to the Utah Jazz and reaching a buyout with Utah.

Russell Westbrook’s tenuous past with Lakers

Westbrook was drafted fourth overall in 2008 by the Seattle SuperSonics, who would become the Oklahoma City Thunder before Westbrook’s rookie season. He found great success at OKC, where he won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award in 2017 and earned seven All-NBA selections in eleven seasons.

After stints with the Houston Rockets and Washington Wizards, Westbrook, a Long Beach native who attended UCLA, returned to Los Angeles via a trade from Washington to the Lakers.

The move, which was reportedly heavily pushed by LeBron James, didn’t work out nearly as well as the Lakers had hoped. Westbrook was heavily and harshly criticized for his play, and the Lakers missed the playoffs.

While Westbrook started with the Lakers the following season, he came off the bench for the first time in over a decade. Still, the team’s performance left much to be desired, and Westbrook was ultimately dealt before the trade deadline.

While it’s still possible that there are hard feelings, both the Lakers and Westbrook did relatively well following the trade; Los Angeles became one of the best teams in the NBA, reaching the Western Conference Finals for the first time since winning a championship in 2020. Westbrook, in turn, found a bond with the Clippers, although postseason success eluded him and his new team. due to injuries to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

This past offseason, Westbrook picked up a $4 million player option before being traded to the Jazz for a second time. He was quickly fired by the Jazz, clearing the way for him to join three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets on a minimum two-year contract.

So far with Denver, Westbrook is averaging 11.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 6.2 assists in nearly 25 minutes per game. Additionally, his three-point percentage (35.8%) is currently the highest mark of his career.

Westbrook and the Nuggets next meet on Feb. 22 against the Lakers, who have lost 13 of their last 14 against Denver.