It can be overwhelming. Not many can relate. But for Durant, Westbrook was one of the few that could. Durant said he’d call Westbrook or Kendrick Perkins — a trio that is still in an active three-way group text to this day — and just vent. “I was vulnerable to him,” Durant said. “It was like, yeah, this is someone I can lean on. It showed me a different side of him. Since then, we’ve been really tight.”
But Durant's selection as Westbrook as his presenter highlighted an eight-year friendship between the two that sprouted through basketball but has extended so far beyond it. “We're like family,” Durant said in an interview with The Oklahoman earlier this week, detailing the evolution of his relationship with Westbrook.
“We don't like each other because he shot more?” Durant asked. “That don't make no sense. And it's really disrespectful to me or to us because you think I'm that selfish of a person? I don't like this guy because he shoots more than me? That's disrespectful to me. Because if I'm a friend, I'm genuine. I'm there. No matter what. Good days, bad days, more shots. I'm a real friend.”
January 22, 2021 | 9:39 pm EST Update

Jonathan Feigen: Game over. Rockets 103, Piston 102. Tucker foul after time expired.
Jamie Hudson: Congrats to the Lillards!! pic.twitter.com/Piqvon0rVK
January 22, 2021 | 8:53 pm EST Update
Michael Malone says coaching Nikola Jokic is a blessing

Michael Singer: Michael Malone on if coaching Jokic adds pressure: “I look at it as a blessing. How many guys have the opp. to coach a great player, a high character person, on & off the court, a guy that every day when he comes to the facility, is in a good mood. There’s not many superstars.”