Thanks to Drake, the inaugural NBA Awards Monday (June 26) featured plenty of laughs to fill up the week. There were also moments that tugged on the heartstrings, like Russell Westbrook’s MVP acceptance speech.
The heartfelt moment brought the feels to centerstage as Westbrook accepted his first Most Valuable Player award and shared it with his family. The Oklahoma City Thunder point guard won by a landslide against James Harden, and Kawhi Leonard. During his speech, the 28-year-old looked back on the moments he shared with his father and brother that shaped his mindset and devotion to them.
“I can’t say thank you enough. You guys sacrificed everything,” he said about his parents Shannon Horton and Russell Westbrook Sr. “Pops, OG, working two jobs, getting me up at 4 in the morning, waking me up, every night going to the gym, shooting hoops outside, staying up late playing the video games. … To my mom doing everything to keep our family together. I’m truly blessed to have you as my mother. You’re so amazing. I couldn’t be able to do none of this without you guys. I can’t say thank you enough. There’s so many things I could say about you guys for putting me here. I’m just thankful for having you guys in my corner. I love you guys.”
Already on the verge of tears, Westbrook dedicated the final leg of his speech to his wife, Nina Westbrook. The couple wed in 2015 after meeting at UCLA in 2007, where they both played basketball. They also welcomed their son Noah Russell Westbrook, earlier this year.
“You hold me down. You keep me in check through good and through bad,” he said. “You make sure I’m on the right track and I’m so appreciative of you because so sacrifice so, so much for me every single day and I can’t thank you enough. As a wife in this league, to be able to sacrifice some of the things you sacrifice and everything that you do, I can’t put it in words and describe how thankful I am to have you in my life. You’ve blessed me with a beautiful son that I’m so thankful for. You continue to make me go. Every time I come home I just, regardless of a good or bad game, every time I see your face I just smile. It does nothing but brighten me up. I just want to say I love you and I thank you for everything you’ve done for me thus far. You’re the best wife a husband like me could ask for and I love you, Sugar. Love you very much.”
The feels. They’re pretty hard to ignore here. Nina also returned the favor of love on social media.
The couple recently enjoyed vacation to Paris, where they enjoyed the sights and sounds of the lovely city, including Paris Fashion Week festivities.
You can check out the speech, starting at the 6:04, above.