Lakers: Russell Westbrook and Malik Monk Talk LA Fans On the Road
The Lakers started their first 2021-22 road trip with a hard-fought victory against the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday night in an overtime win, 125-121.
Russell Westbrook had himself his best game as a Laker thus far, dropping 33 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists. He also shot over 50% from the floor which was encouraging. Westbrook said he was most surprised by how many Laker fans he could hear cheering for them in San Antonio.
“I’m not used to people cheering for me on the road (laughs) that's a different experience for me...Tonight we represented"
Laker fans show up to almost every venue in the NBA. This writer can say that from personal experience. I spent over a decade in Tennessee. My best friend and I had an annual tradition of going to a Laker game in Memphis at the FedEx Forum. Keep in mind this was also when the Grizzlies were a contender. They had Marc Gasol and Mike Conley, and they were a squad. There was never a game we went to where we felt isolated wearing Lakers gear. There were plenty of Lakers fans and plenty of people wearing Kobe Bryant gear.
Malik Monk was also surprised by the reception, saying it "felt like a home game."
Monk of course spent his first few NBA years in Charlotte. It's low hanging-fruit to poke fun at Charlotte, but they have great fans for a franchise whose team left and returned after two seasons. For being a small-market team, however, Monk is definitely not used to having home team fans on the road. Westbrook grew up a Lakers fan so this must be a welcomed change.
