Magic Johnson is calling on Laker Nation to ease up on its harsh treatment of Russell Westbrook.
The Lakers legend took to Twitter on Tuesday to encourage fans to rally around Westbrook and his family, following a tweet by his wife Nina Westbrook that claimed the family has received “death wishes” from critics.
Westbrook has been the target of taunting by Lakers fans and NBA critics amid his months-long shooting struggles. The point guard is recording the worst numbers of his career across the board.
“Laker Nation, it’s our responsibility to come together and support Russell Westbrook and his family,” Johnson tweeted. “Threats and attacks on the Westbrook family are completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. There’s no place in sports for this type of behavior, period.”
In a separate tweet, Johnson wrote, “Russell plays an important role on the @Lakers team and will be a key component to the success of the rest of the season and the NBA Playoffs. Let’s do better, rally around the Westbrook family, and support them.”
He tagged Westbrook in both tweets. The 14-veteran and his wife have not yet publicly responded.
Johnson’s tweets came after he laid into Westbrook on “NBA Countdown” just three days prior, ahead of L.A.’s 124-116 win over Golden State.
“Young man, you’ve got to know that there was expectations when you called LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and said you want to be a Laker… And Kobe [Bryant] said you were the guy. So you know you had to come here, knowing that it’s about championships when you put the purple and gold on,” the Hall of Famer said.
“Quit battling the press, take ownership and accountability and say, “Hey, I haven’t played well but I’ve got a chance to turn it around.’ I’m tired of excuses. It’s time to take ownership and say, ‘I’ve been playing poorly, but hopefully I can turn it around.'”
Johnson’s tweets in support of Westbrook also came after the first-year Laker addressed the viral “Westbrick” chants he’s received at games in a postgame press conference after the Lakers’ 117-100 loss to the Spurs on Monday.
Russell Westbrook on the court with the Lakers Getty Images
Magic Johnson before a Lakers game in 2022 Getty Images“It affects them even going to games,” Westbrook said about his wife and three kids attending Lakers games. “Like, I don’t even want to bring my kids to the game because I don’t want them to hear people calling their dad nicknames and other names for no reason because he’s playing the game that he loves. And it’s gotten so bad where my family don’t even want to go to home games, to any game.”
The Lakers (28-36) have won just seven of their last 24 games and are clinging to the ninth spot in the Western Conference. If the playoffs began today they would make the play-in tournament.
But with 18 games left in the regular season, the LeBron James-led Lakers need a quick solution to their Westbrook woes to stay afloat.
