A Sort of Homecoming

Week One

1/82  W Lakers 123-109

2/82  L Nuggets 112-119

3/82  W Kings 130-125

Opening week has me thinking all kinds of things I wasn’t expecting. What it’s like to have something arrive that you have been waiting for. What it means to come home. And Juan Toscano-Anderson and Russell Westbrook. I didn’t think watching three Warriors games would have me thinking so much about the Lakers. Or thinking at all about the Lakers.

The opening game had the ring and banner ceremony before it--I don’t know what I was expecting but the ceremony was both underwhelming and overblown–I mean, the rings say it all. Maybe I was simply too ready for basketball to start. Still, it was so sweet to see Juan Toscano-Anderson get his ring and hear how he got his mom floor seats and bought her a championship ring of her own. JTA is a hometown hero. From Oakland, lived near Oracle, growing up loving the Warriors, going to games whenever there were free tickets. Through years of hard work and a winding road, he ends up on the Warriors G League team and then on the Warriors during the three year journey from Worst Team in the NBA to Champions. Whether he played or not, he had that spark of energy you want from bench players. The crowd loved him on Tuesday night–cheering wildly when he got his ring. I know it’s a business and follow the money and he is getting way more playing time with the Lakers than he would here, but I miss him. 

Which brings me to what’s happening to Russell Westbrook, JTA’s teammate and scapegoat for all things Lakers. I’ve spent more time thinking about Westbrook this week than I have my whole life. 

He had a disappointing year last year, he’s having a tough start this year, but it makes me deeply sad to see how he’s treated by Laker fans. For sure, Westbrook is a highly paid player who is not living up to his salary, but My God. This isn’t just any team–this is his hometown. He was born in Long Beach, lived 10 miles from the Forum, grew up watching the Lakers, played for UCLA and as a kid, he dreamed of playing for the Lakers. Here’s his opening press conference (start video from 4:10 unless you want to hear 4 minutes of Rob Pelinka). He talks of the power of being able to give back to the same Boys and Girls Clubs that he played basketball in as a kid. He says he never thought he would be able to play for the Lakers because “Some of these dreams don’t come true for people like myself.” It is heartbreaking to see the distance between his press conference and now.

I saw him play Tuesday and some of his game on Thursday. He wasn’t scoring much, but he was doing other things–steals, assists, rebounds. And for that he was mocked, booed, jeered. Everything he did was an opportunity for the fans to be their worst selves. I’ve been thinking about the kind of fan I want to be–this is the kind of fan I don’t want to be. I am guilty of rooting against teams and players (the Yankees and Tom Brady mostly), but rooting against a player on your own team? It’s gross. I feel sure that the boos of a hometown crowd has never once made anyone play better. I mean–do they think Westbrook is unaware that he is missing shots and their boos will somehow alert him to that fact? He IS playing badly right now. There’s a clip from this week where he clanks a foul shot, flies in to get his own rebound and then misses the wide open layup. The saddest part is Westbrook looks miserable. All the things that make him who he is on the court–his confidence, his intensity, his chip on his shoulder–all of them are working against him right now. I wish him well. 

It’s like that saying–you’re never famous in your hometown. When I googled that to get the quotation right, it turns out it’s from the Bible–who knew? I’ve always heard it said about athletes and rock stars. The actual quote is something closer to “no prophet is accepted in his hometown”. I’m not saying Russell Westbrook is a prophet, but he is a nine-time NBA All-Star and on the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, and his hometown needs to do better by him. 

On a side note, this is a site where you can find out the most famous person from your hometown. Most famous from my hometown: Paul Hopkins, major league pitcher from the 1920s.

As Week One ends, a few more things on my mind.

I promised occasional book recommendations and here’s a few: The Movement Made Us: A Father, A Son and the Legacy of a Freedom Ride by David Dennis Jr. It’s got an unintentional Warriors connection as it’s a book from Steph Curry’s book club (did you know Steph had a book club? He sure does!)  

Most of what I know about Russell Westbrook comes from Boom Town: The Fantasical Saga of Oklahoma City, Its Chaotic Founding…Its Purloined Basketball Team and the Dream of Becoming a World-Class Metropolis, which I read a few years ago and fits the category of “books I didn’t think would be interesting but I was very wrong”. 

And finally, Free Brittney Griner. It’s been 250 days.