“There’s a lot of spoiled Lakers fans”, he said.

He revealed his personal opinion on Twitter only to outrage Los Angeles Lakers fans.

Earlier this month, Russell made headlines when he tweeted that Tracy McGrady merits consideration as the greatest player ever.

For some, Russell’s comments about McGrady may have suggested a lack of historical perspective. “I wasn’t downgrading Kobe at all“, Russell said during the weekend.

Now, it’s hard to deny that fans of this franchise – victor of 16 overall titles, 11 since moving to Southern California, five in the Kobe era and at least two during the lifetimes of pretty much anyone who’s reading this – have had it just a little bit good. “I was just watching a highlight tape of Tracy McGrady and I got excited”.

Russell is correct – there are lots of spoiled Lakers fans. That’s what happens when a team dominates a sport for an extended period of time. Some of them expect their team to compete for a championship every season, some of them expect great players to go there just because it’s Los Angeles. He has every right to think that the fans were acting spoiled. Russell has already taken one lesson to heart, however: Anything he says as a member of the Lakers will now be thoroughly dissected, for better or worse. But in terms of popularity, the rookie point guard nearly certainly won’t get there should he continue indirectly alienating the league’s largest – and one of its most maniacal – fan bases. Perhaps Russell, still a rookie in the National Basketball Association circuit, needs more experience to handle them.