What is Kevin Durant’s relationship with Russell Westbrookreally like?
We tried to give you a glimpse into it with this feature on them late last month, but the truth is that very few people actually know how close the two are (or aren’t). Yes, you can watch them on the court and make certain assumptions about them based on how they behave towards one another. But no one knows how they interact when they’re behind closed doors, so it’s impossible to say what their relationship is actually like.
KD tried to shed some light on it last night, though, after he was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and introduced by Westbrook. He sat down with NewsOK.com to speak about his friendship with his Thunder teammate and made it very clear that, despite whatever differences they might have on the court, they are very close off of it. They work out together all the time. KD relies on Westbrook whenever he’s working his way through personal problems. And in a lot of ways, they’ve grown up together, which makes them even closer.
KD also talked specifically about the media members who have tried to drive a wedge between him and Westbrook. He doesn’t appreciate it when people say things like, “KD hates Westbrook because Westbrook takes too many shots." It led to this interesting interaction between KD and NewsOK.com reporter Anthony Slater:
Sounds like you guys can weather most of the criticism, the issues with shot selection or criticism about your game, but is the one that maybe irks you the most when people say that you don’t like each other? Because that’s not an opinion on a shot, it’s literally someone saying you are not friends with your friend.
This, of course, won’t stop people from making the same assumptions that they’ve been making. The next time KD snaps on Westbrook on the court, they’ll yell, “SEE! HE HATES HIM!” But KD’s entire interview about Westbrook is enlightening, and hell, the fact that he did an entire interview about his friendship with Westbrook on the night that he was inducted into a Hall of Fame speaks volumes about him. Check it out here.
Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to sportstips@complex.com.
[via NewsOK]
