Rob Gray-Imagn Images
In the new book A Hollywood Ending: The Dreams and Drama of the LeBron Lakers, there is an anecdote about LeBron James’ “fakeness” wearing out teammate Russell Westbrook, who spent a pair of disastrous seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2021 and 2022.
The story details the time that actor Will Smith visited the Los Angeles Lakers’ facility for a “Lakers Genius Talk” to promote his film Emancipation, the first movie he starred in after slapping Chris Rock at the Academy Awards.
As the excerpt goes, which was provided by The Ringer, prior to Smith’s arrival, LeBron James and Anthony Davis left the planned meeting room as they did not want to participate. They would eventually return, however, with LeBron then turning a 30-minute chat into an hour with his litany of questions.
New book details how LeBron James’ “fakeness” wore down former teammate Russell Westbrook
“When they all returned, Smith was greeted with smiles and daps. Smith talked to the players about his new movie, Emancipation. He talked about overcoming adversity. He cracked some jokes at the team’s expense. Then he opened the floor for questions.
“LeBron was first. He had a question, he said. Smith answered. Then LeBron had another question. And another after that and another after that and another after that. On and on he went, stretching what was supposed to be a 30-minute session into nearly an hour.”
After the session with Smith, Westbrook vented to a teammate that he “hates that fake s—.” which is something he believed was a pattern with LeBron, with the book specifically noting times he acted like he was interested in things such as The Godfather and The Autobiography of Malcolm X but was unable to back it up with any actual knowledge.
“‘I hate that fake s—,’ Westbrook said to a teammate afterward, as the Lakers gathered for a team photo. ‘I just can’t do it.'”
Tying a bow on the absurd story is the fact that there remains photo evidence of the interaction, as a glowering Westbrook can be seen posing just a few feet away from Will Smith in a picture shared by the Lakers on social media.
Huge thank you to Will Smith, who joined the team to discuss strength through togetherness, and practicing gratitude in times of great challenge. All themes in his forthcoming masterpiece film, Emancipation.
🎙 | Lakers Genius Talk pic.twitter.com/H2Pt0bmBhr
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 26, 2022
A HOLLYWOOD ENDING: The Dreams and Drama of the LeBron Lakers by Yaron Weitzman, will be published on Tuesday, October 21, 2025.