The Russell Westbrook signing is reminiscent of an epic troll job in Sacramento

Veteran guard Russell Westbrook is referred to Sacramento Kingswho once epically trolled him in the midst of a streak of cold shots in 2022. During an away game as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers at the time, Westbrook heard “Cold As Ice” after each missed shot. The Foreigner song was also used during Russell’s introduction to the players and during the game, when he went 2-for-14 from the floor, including 0-for-5 from deep, in the 125-116 loss.

After the loss, Westbrook reacted to the Kings trolling during the gameaccording to Lakers reporter Ryan Ward.

“The arena? That’s ridiculous. I hope they’ve been playing that for the last 14 years,” Westbrook said. “It’s funny, they played it. It’s cute.”

After Westbrook’s cold shooting during the Kings’ regular-season loss, Kings were forbidden to troll others. Now he joins the team that did it to him nearly four years ago, and not much has changed for Sacramento in terms of postseason runs.

The last time the Kings reached the playoffs was in 2023, when they lost 4-3 to the defending champion Golden State Warriors, their last postseason appearance in 19 years.

How Kings fans feel about the Russell Westbrook signing

Veteran guard Russell Westbrook joined the Kings a week earlier start of the 2025-26 regular season, as fans reacted to the news on social media. Most of the response from fans was positive, as the Kings could use another veteran to help lead their younger backcourt.

For most Kings fans, the Westbrook signing it makes a lot of sense for the upcoming season.

“After Keegan Murray’s injury, when Keegan is the team’s only true winger, adding an eighth guard makes a lot of sense,” wrote one fan on Bluesky.

Indeed, the Kings have several guards on their roster, including veterans like DeMar DeRozan, Malik Monk and Zach LaVine. However, most of them fall into the shooting guard category, which separates Westbrook from the rest of the pack.

And in his season opener with the Nuggets, who took the champion Thunder to Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals, Russo averaged 6.1 assists per game — which would have led the Kings in assists per game last season.