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In a surprising turn of events this summer, Paul George decided to forego his plans to move to Los Angeles. He signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder for four more years, and his evolving relationship with Russell Westbrook helped keep him in OKC.
Sports Illustrated's Rob Mahoney wrote about how acquiring and keeping George has helped mitigate the loss of Kevin Durant, and why the superstar forward remained with the team.
Yet when the time came to decide his future, George didn’t hesitate to sign up for four more years of the Russell Westbrook experience. “I understand him,” George says. A year before, he didn’t. Both Westbrook and George spend their offseason in Los Angeles, but George knew Westbrook only as a star, a competitor and the subject of chatter. “He was a mystery to me before I came here,” George said. “You just hear so much.”
While people have been going back and forth on scrutinizing Westbrook's style of game, George was all praises for how his spitfire partner has treated him as a teammate. A relentless player on the court, it turns out that Westbrook has a soft spot for the men wearing the same jerseys as his.
For Westbrook, the team is a sacred construct. There is a bright line between those who wear a Thunder uniform and those who do not; crossing it is the difference between Westbrook’s unconditional support and his refusal to acknowledge your existence.
Westbrook is a typical old-school competitor, a type of player we rarely see nowadays. Fans easily spell him out as a villain because of this personality. But for his teammates, it's always a good thing for the best player on your team to always have your back.
Westbrook and George will look to will the Thunder to a deeper postseason run this upcoming season after a disappointing first-round exit last season.
