If you're one of those people who laments how the NBA has gone "soft", the league's updated social media policy probably doesn't sit well with you. The league sent out a memo in February instructing teams to be nicer to one another on Twitter, which prompted a few franchises to troll the new initiative with kindness. Trash talk is supposed to be part of the game!
There are still a few pioneers keeping rivalries alive on the Twitter streets. In a high-profile battle of MVP candidates Sunday afternoon, James Harden's Rockets and Russell Westbrook's Thunder went head-to-head for the final time this regular season. Westbrook won the stats battle with yet another triple-double, but Harden won the war in a 137-125 shootout.
To promote their best player's shot at the MVP trophy, the folks behind Houston's Twitter decided to mash up a photo of the More Life album cover with their bearded assassin. They made sure to use the Drake homage to get in a slight dig at Westbrook:
The shot fired at Westbrook's historic season did not go unnoticed:
This isn't the first time a member of the Rockets organization threw shade at Westbrook's MVP campaign; Houston GM Daryl Morey recently dissed the obsession with Westbrook's triple-doubles by referring to the achievement as a "random combo of numbers".
The beef here comes from a place that is equal parts sour grapes and self-interest, and it's unlikely the Rockets would care to downplay Westbrook's season if he wasn't a legitimate threat to take home the MVP trophy. Both players are deserving of recognition for their unbelievable seasons, and talk has begun to swirl that a co-MVP might be the fairest option of all.
That's a pretty unlikely outcome after all this, but at the very least these two are going to be in the mix for the top individual honor right down to the final moments. Will it take Twitter memes to push one guy over the top? The Rockets must believe so.
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