Russell Westbrook Says ‘Ball’ Is His Only Friend On The Court Ahead Of Battle With James Harden

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets are gearing up for what will almost certainly be an epic first-round battle in the NBA playoffs. The top two candidates for NBA MVP will go head-to-head with Russell Westbrook and James Harden both looking to prove they deserve the award.

With Westbrook and Harden being former teammates and close friends, the Thunder star talked about his friendship with the Rockets superstar and how it will take a backseat during the postseason with the ball being his only friend on the floor, via ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne:

“When I get on the floor, I got one friend, and that’s the basketball,” Westbrook said. “I’ve been like that since I was a little kid. My dad told me that when I was younger, ‘You got one friend and your friend is Spalding. At the time maybe it was Wilson or some other s—.’

“Whatever the ball is, that’s who my friend is.”

Westbrook’s comments are fairly typical of his personality which rivals that of retired superstar Kobe Bryant formerly of the Los Angeles Lakers. The veteran guard has gone to a me-against-the-world mentality since the departure of Kevin Durant, and it seems to be working as he could be named NBA MVP this year and made history averaging a triple-double for an entire season while breaking Oscar Robertson’s record in that category.

With Westbrook heading into this showdown with Harden, it’ll be interesting to see how things turn out with neither player willing to back down. The Rockets are favored at home in Game 1 of the series with a -7.5 point spread, according to Sportsbook.ag.

Houston is also favored to advance with 16/5 odds, via Sportsbook.ag.