The basketball-themed celebration by Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa after his winning home run in Sunday’s Game 2 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) may have been done with Houston Rockets guard Russell Westbrook in mind.
The Astros ultimately won the game, 3-2, in 11 innings after Correa’s walk-off homerun. The victory ties the postseason series between the Astros and New York Yankees at one game apiece.
On Correa’s way to home plate, where a celebratory mob of his teammates awaited, he imitated a basketball player shooting a jumper [with his batting helmet as the ball] into the crowd.
Then on Tuesday, Correa took to Instagram to credit Westbrook as his inspiration. Correa captioned the photo “Pulling up like Russell Westbrook,” followed by the use of Westbrook’s #whynot hashtag and a basketball emoji.
Correa may have noticed Westbrook earlier in the night. For most of the game, the NBA’s 2017 Most Valuable Player (MVP) sat with his wife, Nina, in seats directly behind home plate and near the Astros’ dugout that usually are occupied by Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta.