Russell Westbrook pushes fan following tough loss

A fan celebrating the Nuggets’ win confronted Thunder guard Russell Westbrook on the court.

Russell Westbrook has exceptional focus. From arrival to departure, Westbrook’s tunnel vision has contributed to his competitive mentality. After Thursday night’s loss at the Pepsi Center, Westbrook was exiting the floor like any other game. However, there was a distraction on his way to the tunnel. In a video, the reigning MVP is seen shoving a presumed Nuggets fan following a short confrontation.

While jubilation fills the face of the fan, Westbrook is the opposite. Nuggets guard Gary Harris nailed a game-winning 3-pointer. Westbrook shoves the fan’s right shoulder. Immediately, Thunder center Steven Adams and referee Tony Brown approach the fan. As you can see, the fan is clearly antagonizing Westbrook.

At the end of the day, Denver escaped with a 127-125 on national television. Did circumstances play a part in the riff? Some say Westbrook would pay no attention to the fanfare on the sidelines if Oklahoma City won. The Thunder have now dropped two-straight games. Oklahoma City lost a game in Washington against a Wizards team without John Wall Tuesday.

Furthermore, this is not the first time Westbrook has had a unique interaction with a fan. A Sixers fan flipped off the all-star guard. As usual, cooler heads prevailed and Westbrook involved the officials. His reaction to that incident became a popular meme.

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As expected, professional athlete display a large target on their backs. Specifically, when does fan interaction become too much? Is it verbal? Physical? With that said, security officials and pro sport executives find themselves walking a thin line in terms of when to intervene during an encounter.

It is not known if the fan received any punishment. All you can see is a security official escorting him off the court.