--- title: Russell Westbrook to Tel Aviv Fake Report Moved a Prediction Market description: A fake report linked Russell Westbrook to Hapoel Tel Aviv, spread through news coverage, and helped make the club a market favorite before he retired. canonical: https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/online-hoax-sent-russell-westbrook-to-tel-aviv-he-retired-the-next-day/ author: Annie Nader article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-08-13T21:02:15.338Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-13T21:01:43.784Z og:title: Russell Westbrook to Tel Aviv Fake Report Moved a Prediction Market og:description: A fake report linked Russell Westbrook to Hapoel Tel Aviv, spread through news coverage, and helped make the club a market favorite before he retired. og:url: https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/online-hoax-sent-russell-westbrook-to-tel-aviv-he-retired-the-next-day/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a73e1de7879ba1c/6a7d1533bf22b23c489613a0/GettyImages-2265445042.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: GettyImages-2265445042.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Russell Westbrook to Tel Aviv Fake Report Moved a Prediction Market twitter:description: A fake report linked Russell Westbrook to Hapoel Tel Aviv, spread through news coverage, and helped make the club a market favorite before he retired. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a73e1de7879ba1c/6a7d1533bf22b23c489613a0/GettyImages-2265445042.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- The information presented here is created independently from the TIME editorial staff.  * [Prediction Market](/partner-content/prediction-markets/) # Online Hoax Sent Russell Westbrook to Tel Aviv. He Retired the Next Day. by [Annie Nader](https://time.com/author/annie-nader/) Prediction Markets Analyst Aug 13, 2026 9:02 PM UTC  Russell Westbrook #18 of the Sacramento Kings during the second half against Chicago Bulls at Golden 1 Center on in Sacramento, California March 8, 2026. Russell Westbrook #18 of the Sacramento Kings during the second half against Chicago Bulls at Golden 1 Center on in Sacramento, California March 8, 2026.Don Collier—Getty Images by [Annie Nader](https://time.com/author/annie-nader/) Prediction Markets Analyst Aug 13, 2026 9:02 PM UTC Parody accounts such as [NBACentel](https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/nba-centel-parody-account-returns-to-x-after-being-mourned-by-nba-fans-and-teams-204339199.html) have perfected the timeline trap: you scroll too fast, spot a plausible report beside an $8 blue check mark, and hit repost before realizing the handle is misspelled by a single letter. Getting [Centel'd](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Centel%27d) usually costs nothing more than a discreet delete or a quick "hand up" in the group chat. But this week, the troll economy collided with real money. Here's how a fabricated report linking Russell Westbrook to Hapoel Tel Aviv crossed into mainstream news coverage and helped make the Israeli club the favorite to land Westbrook—one day before he announced his retirement. ## **From Parody to Prediction Market** By the time August rolled around, the NBA news cycle was stuck in garbage time. Westbrook was one of the few names left on the free agency board. The credible reporting pointed toward a 19th season: [ESPN noted](https://www.espn.co.uk/nba/story/%5F/id/49538507/updates-biggest-remaining-nba-free-agents) that Westbrook had indicated he did not plan to retire, while the Sacramento Kings remained open to a reunion. When asked about his future in a [CNN interview](https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/08/sport/video/russell-westbrook-basketball-philanthropy-fashion-pkg-tsi) from August 8, Westbrook offered, "I love playing basketball. If it happens, it works, and that's my plan." There was little to suggest Westbrook was ready to walk away from the NBA—and even less that he was planning a final act overseas. But the rumor mill still lacked a destination. A parody account was ready to provide one. On August 9, an X account calling itself "Marc Jacobs" and falsely claiming an affiliation with _The Athletic_ posted: "[REPORT: Russell Westbrook and Hapoel Tel Aviv reportedly have mutual interest. The former MVP is seriously considering a move overseas this season.](https://x.com/MJacobsLF/status/2086487433668108338?s=42)" The pseudonym seemed designed to turn pattern recognition against the reader. There are two prominent NBA reporters named Marc: [Marc J. Spears](https://x.com/MarcJSpears?lang=en) and [Marc Stein](https://marcstein.substack.com/p/lots-more-late-night-nba-intel). Then there is the fashion designer, [Marc Jacobs](https://time.com/collections/the-2010-time-100/7374608/marc-jacobs/). The details can blur at scroll speed: you see a blue check mark, recognize "Marc Jacobs" as a famous name, and associate "Marc" with NBA news. Still, the clever alias was doing most of the work. Former NBA players have gone on to join Hapoel Tel Aviv, including [Patrick Beverley](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/%5F/id/40576114/nba-veteran-patrick-beverley-signs-team-israel). But one glance at the account, which has fewer than 5,000 followers and the trademark "[not impersonating](https://x.com/MJacobsLF)" line in its bio, made the [parody](https://x.com/Phil%5FLewis%5F/status/2087349342659019117?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2087349342659019117%7Ctwgr%5E92d68c7bd84dfcdb9ae61a02398ba720c012a794%7Ctwcon%5Es1%5F&ref%5Furl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.profootballnetwork.com%2Fnba%2Fviral-report-linking-russell-westbrook-to-israels-hapoel-tel-aviv-debunked%2F) obvious. The hoax should have flamed out as a cheap joke. It almost did—until a news outlet picked it up. On August 11, _The Jerusalem Post_ cited the fabricated "Marc Jacobs" report in an [article](https://web.archive.org/web/20260812003552/https%3A//www.jpost.com/sports/article-905169) claiming Westbrook was in advanced talks to join Hapoel Tel Aviv. The article has since been [removed from the site](https://www.jpost.com/sports/article-905169), but the [outlet's X post remains live](https://x.com/Jerusalem%5FPost/status/2087110355335979145?s=42) and has drawn more than 3 million views, compared to the 73,000 views generated by the initial parody post. The Kalshi market reacted that same day.  On August 11, a [Hapoel Tel Aviv contract](https://kalshi.com/markets/kxnbanextteam/pro-basketball-next-team/kxnbanextteam-26rwestbrook18) appears to have gone live on Kalshi's Westbrook market. By that night, the Israeli club was trading as a 59% favorite to land the former NBA MVP. The market drew roughly $112,000 in trading volume—not a massive sum, and not all of it was traded on Hapoel Tel Aviv. Still, the destination named in a fake report had not just become a tradable outcome, but the favored one. Westbrook, with all the [squinting confusion](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaeZ3RrzpLA) at anything suggesting otherwise, [announced his retirement from the NBA](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/%5F/id/49592048/russell-westbrook-announces-nba-retirement-18-seasons) the next day. The bizarre life cycle of the Tel Aviv rumor marks a fitting end to the NBA's prediction-market offseason. From a [livestream glitch that upended a $230 million LeBron James market](https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/lebron-james-signs-with-76ers-blindsiding-a-230-million-market/) to the [internet's attempt to trade Stephen Curry to the Celtics](https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/how-the-internet-traded-stephen-curry-to-the-celtics/), this offseason has proved that a rumor doesn't need to be true to move a market—it just needs to be aggregated. --- ## Read more from Prediction Markets [READ MORE](https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/) [Open article: Bears Without Borders](https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/bears-without-borders-is-chicago-s-team-moving-to-indiana/)  ### Bears Without Borders [READ MORE](https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/bears-without-borders-is-chicago-s-team-moving-to-indiana/) [Open article: 2026 Is Now Favored to Become the Hottest Year on Record](https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/2026-is-now-favored-to-become-the-hottest-year-on-record/)  ### 2026 Is Now Favored to Become the Hottest Year on Record [READ MORE](https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/2026-is-now-favored-to-become-the-hottest-year-on-record/) [Open article: The Favorites to Headline the 2027 Super Bowl Halftime Show](https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/the-nfl-s-biggest-roster-decision-has-nothing-to-do-with-football/)  ### The Favorites to Headline the 2027 Super Bowl Halftime Show [READ MORE](https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/the-nfl-s-biggest-roster-decision-has-nothing-to-do-with-football/) --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/online-hoax-sent-russell-westbrook-to-tel-aviv-he-retired-the-next-day/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/online-hoax-sent-russell-westbrook-to-tel-aviv-he-retired-the-next-day/"},"headline":"Online Hoax Sent Russell Westbrook to Tel Aviv. 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