Kevin Durant gives an in-depth one-on-one interview on his friendship with Russell Westbrook

Do you remember your first meeting, first impression of Russ?

Yeah, I was there when he got drafted. As soon as he got off the stage I was there to greet him to the team. Immediately we just clicked. It was a guy who I felt like we were similar in what we wanted as players and who we were as men. We just kinda climbed from there together. It’s been kinda fun to see his progression because me, I was expected to be here. He was kinda up in the air. But to see how hard he worked, how much he wanted it, I realized he was cut from the same cloth I was cut from.

Was it hard to gain his trust right away?

I think when you meet anybody, it’s hard to gain their trust. It took us both some time to get used to each other. Because the NBA life was very new to me, I was in it for a year and we relocated. For him, it was new. He came from not playing a minute his freshman year to being a role player his second year to being the fourth pick in the draft. That’s a big change for anyone. We were still getting used to it. I was starting, he was coming off the bench his first few games. We were kids, man. We were kids. There was so much going on. But we kinda leaned on each other.

Looking back on it, was it almost the perfect place to breed a friendship? New franchise, you’re in a new city, not a big city, both around the same age, probably almost forced to hang out with each other.

Yeah, to be honest, we could’ve done it anywhere. Oklahoma City was just a great spot for us, our starting spot, but we could’ve done it anywhere. Because our personalities matched, what we wanted as basketball players, that matched. What we liked off the court, everything, it just matched. As men, you grow up and you figure out what you want and you like and we’ve kinda grown apart but not in a bad way. I’m figuring out what my lane is as a man. He’s married, starting his own family, so it’s a little different now. But as men, we respect each other. We know where we came from.

The early workouts. You know, we always hear about practice is at 10 but you guys are in at 6:45 a.m. or whenever. Has it always been like that for you two?

Yeah, it’s been like that since about 2011. He was the first. Because I was always the guy that worked out after practice. And I was like, Russ don’t work out after practice? So I asked Mo Cheeks one day, is it easier for a guy to come in before practice or come afterward to work out? Mo said it’s easier to work out afterwards. So I followed Russ. I was like, I’m gonna come in early because he came in early and it’s gonna help me. I kinda took from him doing that. And we don’t even talk when we out there, but we kinda know. I’m here early, he’s here early, right at the same time and somebody’s here working just as hard as me. You can respect that. Even though we don’t talk, there’s kinda just that energy in the building and I know we want the same thing.

Just one of those deals where it’s dark outside and you’re the only two in there, it’s like a silent bonding?

Yeah, I think that’s what helped us out as friends. When you love basketball so much and you have someone that works just as hard as you and wants the same thing as you, you gotta respect this guy because you know how tough it is to be where you are. He wants it. He wants it. And I feel like I want the same thing. It’s a healthy competition.

Is it a race type of thing, like you get to the parking lot and are mad that his car is already there?

Yeah, definitely. I don’t know if he feels that way. But when he pulls up and I pull up to the parking lot and his car is there before mine, I rush in there and if I’m not before him, we better walk out at the same time. So it’s healthy. It makes me better, makes him better. We didn’t talk about it, it just happened.

All the All Star games together. Is that a bonding experience?

It’s a little different. He has his own brand and I have my own deal going on. But we know that we represent Oklahoma City and our teammates. We know that all those days coming in early pay off. It’s easy to take those type of stuff for granted. But when you’re in it and you’re going through that weekend, you’re like the days where I was there at 8 in the morning, that did it. And to have someone that was there every step of the way, it’s special. A lot of people can’t relate, but he can.

You both have plenty ahead of you, but have you two ever sat down and talked about what you’ve already laid behind?

Nah. I believe in doing that when you’re done playing. We have so much more of our book we want to write. It’s easy to kinda get stuck on one page. You still want to enjoy it, you don’t want to take any of that stuff for granted. But you want to keep going. In our world, in our society, you accomplish something and it’s always about what’s next. You never appreciate the moment. Having that balance is what makes you special and I think we both have it.

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