Apparently, Russell Westbrook's mean streak ends on the court

Ex-teammate Alex Abrines was the latest to attest to Brodie's brotherly love
Sep 23, 2019
PHOTO: AP

Russell Westbrook's in-game ferocity, much like his fashion sense, is truly something else.

The Brodie unapologetically scowled his way to eight All-Star appearances, three straight triple-double seasons, and a Most Valuable Player award. He has butted heads with almost everyone in the league — from opposing players and referees, to even his own teammates and the media.

A superstar partner (Paul George) leaving him for the second time (after Kevin Durant) certainly didn't help his shaky reputation.

Despite the ongoing perception of Westbrook versus the world, though, another former comrade has vouched for the frenetic guard.

In an interview with Movistar via Euro Hoops, ex-Oklahoma City Thunder Alex Abrines described Westbrook as a "nice guy" and talked about how the latter was there for him when he was struggling with his mental health:

"He helped me a lot especially in the first year. In most of our trips, we did something together. Watch a movie, have dinner. When I went through all this and did not travel with the team, he kept in touch. He asked me to meet him for dinner. He cared for the person beyond the player. He calmly told me what I should do noting that he would support me if I decided to leave."

The Spanish shooter was the latest player to be vocal about his psychological well-being, following Kevin Love and DeMar DeRozan. Abrines played for OKC for three seasons, before mutually agreeing to a release earlier this year due to his mental health issues.

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    Love, who played with Russ in UCLA, admitted engaging in friendly competition but also having a close affinity with his former roommate via The Player's Tribune.

    "Russ and I ended up being roommates on the road. I think we had an immediate bond because we had common goals coming out of high school. We'd lie around our hotel room talking about making it to the NBA," he shared. "Sometimes Russ could be a stubborn roommate. We butted heads because we were competitive about everything. We competed at video games. We played hundreds of hands of a card game called '13' (I still maintain that I'm up by one point.)."

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    "(Still) We showed up to the gym early (he was somehow always there before me) to lift, study film and get in some extra shooting."

    Enes Kanter, who played with Westbrook for two and a half seasons in Oklahoma City, said it best — literally.

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    PHOTO: AP
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