Damian Lillard Calls Russell Westbrook A ‘Bully’ While Discussing Rivalry

Damian Lillard and Russell Westbrook are two of the best guards of their era. While neither man is coming off a particularly strong 2023-24 NBA season, historically they have been among the league’s top players.

As a result of their History of squaring off in the Western Conference, Lillard and Westbrook have developed something of a rivalry.

This week, Lillard opened up about that rivalry and called Westbrook a ‘bully’ in the process.

“He was the bully,” Lillard said recently on Jeff Teague’s ‘Club 520′ podcast.

 

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“It didn’t matter if it was like a big matchup, if somebody was hurt and he was playing against the backup — he didn’t care. He tried to do it to everybody.

“He would be shooting on me so much that KD would be getting mad, like, ‘Pass the ball.’ He’s shooting every time, and that’s when it became personal, so I was being more aggressive back at him, and that’s when it turned into talking. ‘I’ve been busting your a** for years!’ And I’d be like, ‘Yeah, well it’s a new time.’ I came to the arena knowing it’s on tonight. Something happening.”

Although Lillard and Westbrook have a pretty well-documented rivalry, the former does want everyone to know that he doesn’t actually have any ill-will towards the latter.

“They confuse comPeting with hate when it’s ruthless vs ruthless,” Lillard wrote not long ago.

Westbrook is hoping to rewrite his story with the Denver Nuggets this year. Lillard is aiming to bounce back after a disappointing first season with the Milwaukee Bucks. Will we get another memorable matchup between these two during the 2024-25 NBA season? Time will tell.

Carlos Garcia

A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.