Wizards guard Russell Westbrook celebrated Washington’s play-in game victory over the Pacers by giving his shoes to a young fan before it was even finished.
One lucky fan at the Wizards play-in game against the Pacers had a great night.
First, he was on hand as Washington stormed their way into the playoffs with an emphatic victory.
Then, he got to leave with one of the coolest souvenirs possible: game-worn Russell Westbrook shoes.
Incredibly, Westbook gave away his shoes before the game was even over. He pulled them off with five minutes left.
Russell Westbrook confidently made a fan’s night with his shoe toss
When he exited the floor with eight minutes to go in the fourth, Washington held a 35-point lead. A comeback was highly unlikely, but that’s still a move that exudes major confidence.
The timing of it all produced an incredible image of a shoe-less Westbrook sitting on the bench waiting for the result to be confirmed.
Westbrook has always had his fair share of swagger. That image is above and beyond it.
You can’t fault Westbrook for enjoying the moment. He had 18 points, eight rebounds and a game-high 15 assists to lead his team to their most important victory of the season thus far.
After Tuesday’s loss to the Celtics in the first play-in game, a loss to Indiana would have knocked the Wizards out of the postseason before it could really get started.
Along with Westbrook, Washington relied on 25 points from Bradley Beal plus 15 points and 13 rebounds off the bench from Daniel Gafford.
Their reward for the win is the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. They’ll fight it out with the No. 1 seed Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the NBA playoffs starting on Sunday.