WHEN THE Wizards' Russell Westbrook couldn't muster up enough words to defend himself, his wife Nina Earl was more than ready to cook up a clapback at NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith.
Not that RussWest kept mum after Smith's criticism of his "no-ring" talent in his show First Take. But Nina took it to the next level, speaking with spice and ending with a bang.
"Russell makes history and @stephenasmith comes out of nowhere to share his non-congratulations," the former UCLA player said in an Instagram story thread, tagging Smith. "He doesn't care about your championship, and certainly not your opinion. He is a champion of life, of his people."
Nina went on at length about the efforts of his husband that are not seen on the court.
"Russell is the happiest he's ever been, and not having a championship does not hurt him a lot, you know nothing about him. He cares about his people, his community, and trying to make the world a better place," she went on.
Last Monday, the 32-year-old athletic guard broke the franchise's triple-double record as he fired 35 points, 21 assists, and 14 rebounds to propel their win against the Indiana Pacers, 132-124.
He's earned the applause of many basketball afficionados, but for the ESPN commentator, it was nothing special.
"Here's the thing about Westbrook's big night, I don't give a damn about any of it. [His] numbers mean absolutely nothing to me because that's what [he] can do, he's a former league MVP, the most athletic guard we have ever seen, but it's not just about that anymore. You've played with amazing talent, no rings," he said in First Take.
The nine-time NBA All-Star responded to the critique a day after.
"A championship [doesn't] change my life. I'm happy. I was a champion once I made it to the NBA. I grew up in the streets. I'm a champion," he said.
Nina, who is a professional therapist, ended her statement with: "Leave us alone already, we don't want to play anymore."
In a succeeding episode of First Take, Smith doubled down on his criticism, tackling the technical side of the Westbrook's game.
"I stand by everything I said. Russell Westbrook is a sensational athlete. Everybody wants to talk about your numbers, you've been so phenomenal, you're a leage MVP with a triple-double," he said. "You're averaging 41M a year and championships don't matter? That's not the culture of basketball I come from."
Smith left Brodie a quick reminder of what all that competition is all about.
"You're so great we want to see more," he said.
But even Smith himself had to commend Mrs. Westbrook's manner of defending her partner.
"I wanna applaud her. If I get married someday, I want my wife, my lady to come into my defense like that. That's all I have to say to her, I'm not going at anybody's wife," he said, acknowledging the great amount of respect she has for the career woman.
Check out the internet's best reactions to her heartfelt defense... starting with her husband.
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