Overview
- Author Yaron Weitzman recounts a 2022 team session where Will Smith spoke to the Lakers, alleging LeBron James left before the visit, returned to lead an extended Q&A, and prompted Russell Westbrook to tell a teammate, “I hate that fake s***.”
- The book portrays Westbrook as viewing James as inauthentic, citing widely discussed examples such as claims about The Godfather, a Malcolm X book appearance, and a pregame prediction of Kobe Bryant’s 81-point night.
- Weitzman reports that Lakers–Nets talks about Kyrie Irving—requiring Westbrook in any salary-matching deal—strained trust, with a noted Summer League noninteraction in Las Vegas reflecting the fallout.
- Los Angeles traded Westbrook in February 2023 in a three-team deal to the Jazz, then reached the Western Conference Finals that spring before first-round exits in 2024 and 2025.
- Major outlets echoed The Ringer’s excerpt and its anecdotes, and no significant on-the-record rebuttal has surfaced, as the retrospective arrives soon after Westbrook signed with the Kings.