Russell Westbrook Brought a Woody Doll to Orlando to Remind Him of Son Noah: 'Missing My Man Man'
Russell Westbrook/Instagram
Houston Rockets star Russell Westbrook is preparing for the start of the NBA Playoffs next week in Orlando, but his mind is also on his family back home.
Hundreds of NBA players have been removed from their families and friends since entering the locked-down Walt Disney World campus last month, and being away from loved ones for weeks has taken an emotional toll on many. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James recently tweeted "Damn I miss my family!" after the Phoenix Suns surprised their players by having family members introduce them over video before a recent game.
Westbrook is also one player who is missing his loved ones back home. The nine-time NBA All-Star recently shared a screenshot of a recent FaceTime call with his 3-year-old son, Noah, that showed the two holding up matching Woody dolls from the movie, Toy Story.
"Missing my man man," the 31-year-old wrote in the caption of his Instagram Story on Wednesday.
According to Westbrook's previous social media posts, Noah may be one of Toy Story's biggest fans. A photo posted in May shows Noah wearing a Buzz Lightyear costume while his dad happily poses in a Woody outfit next to him.
"To infinity and beyond," wrote the former NBA MVP, who also shares twin daughters Skye and Jordan with his wife, Nina.
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Russell Westbrook/Instagram Russell Westbrook and his son
Since becoming a parent, Westbrook has been open about what fatherhood means to him. In a YouTube video from 2018 announcing he and Nina were expecting twins, Westbrook called fatherhood an "honor."
“Just, you know, having two girls is exciting in itself, but just having been able to be blessed and have more children I think is a complete honor and it’s a blessing to start there and after that as parents, I think we can take the rest so we’ll be fine," he said.
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"He's always singing and dancing with Noah," Nina added of her husband. "He’s very hands-on; he helps a lot. He probably does more than I do when he’s around… wakes up early, stays up late, puts Noah to bed, goes to workout late at night."
Westbrook is currently nursing an injury to his right quadriceps, which the Rockets are hoping heals before the team faces the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the NBA Playoffs next week. According to the Houston Chronicle, it's likely Westbrook will miss the first few games of the series.
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According to the Associated Press, NBA teams will be allowed to invite guests to the Walt Disney World campus just before the start of the second round of the playoffs, a memo sent by the NBA on Wednesday detailed.
Most players will be able to invite four guests, including family members or “longtime close personal friends with whom a player has an established, pre-existing, and known personal relationship," the outlet reported. Other qualifying guests include family childcare providers and security members.
The strict rules inside the NBA "bubble" are meant to keep players and staff safe from coronavirus, and the experiment has worked so far — the league has not yet had a single positive coronavirus test inside the Disney World campus.
