Magic Johnson implores Laker Nation to rally around Russell Westbrook and his family: “There’s no place in sports for this type of behavior, period”

After being acquired last offseason in a trade with the Washington Wizards, veteran guard Russell Westbrook came to the Los Angeles Lakers with some lofty expectations. Many thought that the veteran playmaker would be the missing ingredient to get the Lakers over the top in their pursuit of an NBA championship.

So far this year has been a nightmare season for Westbrook as he's struggled to fit in with his new team and has seen a rapid decline in his play. Westbrook recently revealed that his wife and family have received death threats in recent weeks.

It's always tough when a player shows some struggles to live up to such high expectations. However, the recent situation with Westbrook seems to have taken a turn for the worse.

Lakers legend Magic Johnson took to Twitter to stress that Lakers fans should come together and support Westbrook and his family instead of attacking him for his struggles this year.

"Threats and attacks on the Westbrook family are completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. There's no place in sports for this type of behavior, period."

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A tough season for Russell Westbrook with the LA Lakers

Dallas Mavericks v Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook

Throughout his career in the NBA, veteran guard Russell Westbrook has been one of the most exciting players to watch with his combination of explosiveness and overall athleticism.

When he's at his best, Westbrook has shown the ability to take over games with his playing style and talent, putting up eye-opening production on a nightly basis. Unfortunately for Westbrook, it seems as if he's never been able to find his groove with the Lakers this year, as he's continued to struggle with his consistency on a nightly basis.

Although Westbrook's play has been disappointing, Magic Johnson does bring up a crucial point in this recent development. There's simply no room for this type of behavior in sports and it's disappointing to hear that Westbrook and his family have received the type of messages that he's hinting about.

Although it's been a down year for the star guard, the team has had a number of different problems that have resulted in their poor play throughout the 2021-22 NBA season.

As of right now, Westbrook is averaging 18.1 points per game while shooting 43.3% from the field and 28.2% from three-point range. If his production stays at that rate, it will be the first time since 2009-10 that Westbrook has seen his points per game drop below twenty.