After losing to the New Orleans Pelicans Thursday night, Russell Westbrook’s frustration spilled into his postgame press conference, where he confronted Sacramento Kings media.

At 14-50, the Kings have the worst record in the NBA. And according to Westbrook, he has no issue with reporters acknowledging that. But Westbrook does have an issue with the media setting false expectations or criticizing the team without context.

Following the loss, one reporter noted the difficult season and asked what can still be accomplished in the team’s remaining games. And while Westbrook reinforced the importance of being a professional and continuing to compete, he quickly turned the tables on the media, asking them to weigh in.

Russell Westbrook decided to go at the media tonight in postgame. pic.twitter.com/UOgmGhV5OH

— James Ham (@James_HamNBA) March 6, 2026

“What y’all think though? Cause y’all got a lot of answers and y’all always be talking,” Westbrook asked while not garnering much of a response.

“Oh, interesting, nobody? You guys have a lot of opinions about how we do what we doing. What you got?” Westbrook continued, pointing directly at Matt George, radio and podcast host for Sactown Sports 1140. “You make a lot of statements and put out statements that you have no context. Where do you get your context from?”

Westbrook then asked George whether he attends practice, film sessions or has any insight into what’s happening with the team behind the scenes. George answered “no” to all of the questions.

“Are you anywhere in the building?” Westbrook asked, which George claimed he is. “No, I haven’t seen you at practice. So the false context of – and actually, do you know me?”

“I know you,” George claimed.

“No, you don’t know me,” Westbrook fired back. “You don’t know me. You don’t know me, but you make a lot of comments as though you do know me.”

“I’m talking about your basketball team,” George answered.

“No, no, no, you don’t,” Westbrook continued. “I see it. I’m asking you now, but you don’t know me, right? You don’t, you don’t know anything about me.”

“Not you personally,” George admitted.

“Thank you. That’s good. Anybody else?” Westbrook asked, inviting other media members to weigh in. “You guys have any comments about how we play, what we’re doing? You guys are quiet today, but you guys have a lot of comments when the game’s going on and after the game, what we’re doing, what we should be doing, how we should be doing it. I’m confused.”

Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee took the bait, noting the Kings have the worst record in the NBA, and they’ve been in the bottom three in offense and defense the entire season. And Biderman told Westbrook it’s fair to point those facts out.

“Yeah, that’s been pointed out, but that’s not the only thing that’s been talked about. What else does it point out?” Westbrook asked. “That’s not the only thing you’ve said. I’ve seen things you say. It’s not just about our offense and our defense and what our record is. We’ve been the worst record for a long time now.”

Biderman asked Westbrook for examples, but the former NBA MVP said “I don’t want to go down that route…you have a lot of things to say, so this is your time. This is the floor to say it.”

Matt George didn’t accept the invite. Instead, he posted a 25-minute podcast addressing the interaction with Westbrook after the exchange. According to George, he believes some of this issue stemmed from the fact he’s labeled this the worst Kings team in franchise history, and questioned continuing to put Russell Westbrook on the court to chase milestones instead of developing younger players.

George added that he had no issue with Westbrook calling him out, although he didn’t seem eager to engage until after they parted ways. But credit George for at least being in the room. Many sports radio hosts will speak candidly about a team without ever attending a media session where the players have an opportunity to respond. George didn’t seem comfortable saying how he feels when challenged by Westbrook, but at least he was there. And now he undoubtedly benefits from an attention bump for his radio show and podcast.

It has to be frustrating for a former MVP who played for perennial championship contenders earlier in his career to be on a 14-50 team. But how did Russell Westbrook think this season was going to go? He signed on to play for a team without any real expectations, and when things got bad, the Kings quickly and clearly pivoted to tanking. Local reporters and media members aren’t going to respond to that by crediting the players for working hard in practice and film sessions.