Russell Westbrook’s Unique Bond With His New Coach Is Revealed In This Game 4 Story

Kevin Durant, Billy Donovan, Russell Westbrook
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The Oklahoma City Thunder are on the verge of eliminating the Golden State Warriors and moving on to the NBA Finals. They are doing this under the leadership of Billy Donovan, who is in his first year as an NBA head coach after spending 19 years coaching the Florida Gators. There were questions about whether Donovan was up to the task and how he would manage coaching professionals, including stars like Russell Westbrook. This article from The Washington Post provides some insight into how Donovan and Westbrook are getting along and how their relationship has evolved.

In the piece, Westbrook is quoted as saying that Donovan’s relationship with his players has “definitely gotten better. Obviously with the [coaching] change, we all had to adjust. … I think it’s been great.”

An example of the relationship between Westbrook and Donovan is given as well. In the second quarter of Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, Westbrook sauntered over to the bench while Draymond Green shot free throws. His message to Donovan was that he thought it would be smart to take out Enes Kanter, who struggles on the defensive side of the ball. A few moments later, Donovan did just that.

Donovan explained the situation by saying, “I’ve tried to foster that kind of stuff because I think what happens a lot of times with players is a lot of times it may be, I don’t want them to feel like they can’t come to me. I want Kevin and Russell and those guys that have been here and have invested so much to be able to communicate with me, and I want to be able to go to them.”

So if you see Westbrook making similar requests to Donovan in future games, know that this kind of communication is considered a good thing in Oklahoma City. Perhaps this is a reason why the Thunder are on the verge of taking down the Warriors.

(Via The Washington Post)

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