All eyes are on the Russell Westbrook–James Harden matchup in the first round series between Oklahoma City and Houston. Beyond the fact that the two are MVP candidates, they were two-thirds of the Thunder’s core for several years and are friends off the court.
But naturally, once the ball is tipped, the friendship between the two goes out the window, and the only thing that matters is one guy’s team will walk out with the win. This makes anyone ultra-competitive, but for Westbrook, it means that his approach to everything changes.
This includes his approach to friendship. Once the game tips off, his only friend is the ball. He elaborated on this in an absolutely terrific quote, via Ramona Shelburne.
Westbrook and Kobe have similar views on friendship, apparently pic.twitter.com/TWnVPtySsN
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) April 16, 2017
This seems like something Kobe would say, no? “I have friends, but when we’re on the hardwood, my only friend is the basketball. Nothing else matters.” Harden’s views on friendship when the game tips are probably similar, but Westbrook’s bluntness on the matter is pretty entertaining. And besides, it would be kind of weird for Westbrook – whose game is defined by the chip he seems to have on his shoulder – to say anything other than this.
Either way, Westbrook’s thoughts on friendship takes “ball is life” to a different level.
