For many, the NHL can be seen as a league in which players strictly follow tradition in the league and, generally, try not to step on too many toes outside of gameplay.
That’s why topics like the handshake line can often be such a hot topic. On this occasion though, it’s not about hockey, but instead it’s a hockey player reacting to an action in the NBA. In one of the most heated series in recent years, Russell Westbrook and the Thunder were eliminated by the Rockets and Westbrook did not shake hands after the game.
In his postgame interviews, it’s clear he was pretty fired up about the game still, so some may understand why the exchange didn’t happen. LA Kings forward Marian Gaborik is not one of those people.
There are a lot of opinions on this whenever it happens. Sidney Crosby missed shaking Nick Lidstrom’s hand after winning the cup in 2009 and caused an uproar. Also in 2009, LeBron James passed on shaking the Orlando Magic’s hands after they eliminated the Cavs. So these are not new topics, but they are still fairly volatile ones.
Many people fall on Marian Gaborik’s side in saying that it is part of good sportsmanship to do this, but others feel that it’s a tradition for kids that doesn’t need to be carried over to professionals.
In Westbrook’s case, it may have even been more personal. Considering how personal the series seemed to get, it’s not unthinkable that he felt his teammates had been disrespected by the Rockets and decided not to shake their hands because of it.
