Though they might be fierce competitors on the court next season in the NBA, Marcus Smart and Joe Harris of Team USA have become fast friends during the buildup to the FIBA World Cup.

Smart, who is the team’s de facto captain and a generally lovable personality in the NBA, claimed to be Harris’s “alter ego” in a story by The Athletic's by Joe Vardon.

“Joe, he’s a really funny guy in general,” Smart said. “So, like I always tell everybody here, you’ve got anything to say about Joe, you say it to me because I’m his alter ego. He’s always telling me I’m his alter ego. The things he won’t do or say, I do it for him. It’s kind of funny.”

Team USA has gleaned so many laughs from the bit that it's become a “team joke,” one players come back to again and again in text threads.

“We’ve all played on it on texts, and now it’s ‘all business inquiries, see Marcus. Anything you’ve got going on, see Marcus,'” Harris said.

Though this might be all fun and games for the players involved, this shows that the players on Team USA – which saw a rash of players drop out to focus on the upcoming season instead of playing for pride and country – are gelling quite well ahead of its FIBA World Cup debut on Sunday night.

Both Smart and Harris had breakout years for the Celtics and Nets, respectively, last season. Let’s hope both players continue that strong stretch of play with Team USA, as well as next season for their new-look squads.