It’s not exactly a secret that Russell Westbrook is a big fan of Taylor Swift. In the past, he’s posted videos of him singing along to her songs "22" and "Bad Blood," and he’s also checked in with his fans on social media from her concerts.
Swift has returned the love right back to Westbrook on a couple of occasions over the years:
And on Monday night, Swift took her appreciation to the next level when she teamed up with the Thunder to release a video that featured her congratulating Westbrook on winning his first NBA MVP award. In the video, Swift—who has stayed out of the limelight for most of the last year—joked about how she taught Westbrook how to play ball. You can watch it for yourself here:
"Remember I was the one who taught you to play basketball," she said. "I was the one who taught you to dribble, to shoot hoops. I remember the first time you beat me at basketball. I was very upset, and you said…'You just have to shake it off.' And I got an idea. So essentially, we have each other to thank for these careers. That’s why I’m a part of your congratulations video, because we just, we go back 20 years. Actually, we’ve never met. That’s a fake story, but I wish it were the truth. You are amazing. You’re the MVP. I’m so happy for you."
Westbrook hasn’t reacted publicly to the video just yet. But as you might imagine, there were plenty of NBA fans who had things to say about it. Many—who may or may not have been aware of Westbrook’s allegiances to Swift—didn’t love seeing Swift’s congratulatory clip flooding their Twitter timelines:
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Others were a little more forgiving and thought it was cool to see Swift coming out of hiding to show love for Westbrook’s monumental accomplishment:
But regardless of which side of the fence you were on, it’s clear that Swift’s video touched a nerve:
At the end of the day, the only thing that really matters is what Westbrook thinks about the clip, and if we had to guess, he’s going to love it. How could he not?
Congrats again, Russ. What a season.
