After Westbrook sent him flying, Winston redeemed himself originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Cassius Winston may be Russell Westbrook’s hype man during pregame handshakes, but on Wednesday the star point guard caught Winston by surprise with the amount of force he put into jumping up for a shoulder bump. For the 2020 second-round pick out of Michigan, it was a rookie moment that also happened to be caught on camera.
We're making it easier for you to find stories that matter with our new newsletter — The 4Front. Sign up here and get news that is important for you to your inbox.
Luckily for Winston, he would get another chance the following night. After the Wizards lost to the Milwaukee Bucks 135-134 on Wednesday, they traveled to Tampa for pivotal contest with the Toronto Raptors. Westbrook came up for pregame handshakes and once again went up to bump shoulders with Winston. This time, he was ready.
The Wizards pulled out a victory as well, escaping with a 131-129 overtime win to stay within half a game of the Indiana Pacers for the ninth seed in the East. Toronto, meanwhile, fell to four games behind Washington for the final spot in the play-in tournament.
Winston hasn’t been on the court much this season, but his presence has been felt on the bench and in the locker room. While his spill in Milwaukee might have made its rounds on social media, he’s back on track with a better understanding than anyone of how to match Westbrook’s energy moving forward.
