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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 01: Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers is fouled by Russell Westbrook #18 of the Sacramento Kings in the second half at Crypto.com Arena on March 01, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
It appears that Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic held his own during a wild moment of trash with Russell Westbrook a few nights ago. The Lakers had a dominant victory over the woeful Sacramento Kings, but that didn’t stop Westbrook from doing his usual trash talk. Cameras caught both stars getting into trash talking, and a recent video of lip reading with transcript exposed the comments.
Popular NBA content creator Legendz shared the following interactions with a closer look and lip reading:
Westbrook: “Hell no! Ball don’t lie!” (Westbrook yelled as Doncic missed the first of two free throws after a foul call)
Doncic: “You’re down 20 talking sh**t.” (Doncic laughed at Westbrook to anger him)
Westbrook: “I can talk all day long, what the f**k are you going to do?” (Westbrook received a technical foul after this)
Westbrook: “He was talking to me, f**k are you talking about? So? Come on, man!” (Westbrook said this to Luke Kennard getting in between them)
Westbrook: “I can say whatever the f**k I want. Bro, I said ball don’t lie, and you said you’re down 20 talking sh**. I can talk to you however the f**k I want.” (Westbrook continued talking to Luka until his Kings teammates stepped in to end it)
Why One Luka Comment Set Westbrook Off
Many NBA players talk trash when they are MVP candidates and All-NBA caliber players, like Westbrook was for many years in his prime. A large percentage of those loud players will stop talking as boldly once they move down into a lesser role player situation.
Westbrook is the exact opposite and will talk even louder if someone challenges him. Pride is what drives Westbrook, so counting stats and win/loss records don’t matter at all. Doncic tried to shut Westbrook up by reminding him of the score, but it just escalated the situation.
Westbrook actually showed more respect to Doncic’s teammate Luke Kennard when he got involved to stop the situation from getting more tense. However, it was Luka thinking that the score should dictate his trash talking that made Westbrook continue talking until teammates stopped him.
Luka Doncic’s Talking Gets Him In Trouble
Lakers fans enjoyed seeing Doncic talk back to Westbrook, but Luka’s mouth often gets him in more trouble than Russell. Doncic has a total of 14 technical fouls this season and is nearing the maximum allowed techs before getting suspended for a game.
More technicals after that suspension will see him forced to sit out more games, so he must cool down his temper. The Lakers already have little room for error due to their lack of depth. Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves must have strong performances most nights for the Lakers to pull out victories.
Most of Luka’s technical fouls and controversial moments come from talking to officials more than other players. Doncic complaining about multiple calls each night has been called out by the NBA media and other players around the league. Fans would have prefer Luka have more moments like the Westbrook trash talk than technicals from arguing foul calls.