I love my friends. I have friends who call my parents “Mom” and “Dad,” and I call their parents the same.
I have friends who have memorized codes to open garage doors, old phone numbers, etc. I even have one friend who I’ve seen multiple times as the only person in my house (I still live in my parents’ house), which wouldn’t be that weird, except he’s always watching Hallmark Channel Christmas movies.
Now, as much as my friends know I’m not a big fan of the NBA, there’s a basketball bro-mance that needs some discussing: Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.
After spending eight years helping to build a team in Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant announced he would sign with the Golden State Warriors.
At the surface, that’s no biggie – players play for various teams all the time. Dig a little deeper, and there’s some drama. The announcement to move to California was made public shortly after Durant and go-to teammate and buddy Westbrook blew a 3-1 series lead against the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.
Yup, there it is.
K.D. and Russ build a championship-contending team, K.D. and Russ narrowly lose to the Warriors, K.D. goes to the Warriors.
Not a favorable scenario if you’re Westbrook or a Heliophobic (someone who’s scared of the sun) Kevin Durant fan, as there’s significantly more sunshine in California than in Oklahoma.
Well, ever since K.D.’s move, he and Russ have been on the outs. K.D. says he made the move based on what believed was best for him as both a player and a person, aligning with his motives to grow in basketball and in life. Russ didn’t buy it. He frequently called out Durant for, more or less, being a coward, and even shared some good ol’ fashion fightin’ words with K.D. when the Warriors played in Oklahoma. Pretty nasty stuff for two fellas who were besties.
A little more than a week ago, however, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook played on the same team in the All-Star game, in which they connected for a traditionally savage alley-oop. The rest of the team might as well have taken hands and sang “Kumbaya” as they saw these bros momentarily reunite, much like a couple of middle school aged girls watching the lovers from “The Notebook” embrace in the rain.
My take on it is that Kevin should apologize to Russ for leaving the way he left, and Russ should apologize to Kevin for calling him a coward when he was just trying to be better. Why throw away a friendship that meant so much just because something happened that, in the long run, means so little?
Sure, the pill is a lot easier to swallow for Kev than Russ, as he’s on the best team in the world and his former teammate is 16 games behind Golden State. But come on, they’re both among the best players in the world, achieving amazing accomplishments, and living an incredible life. So why not live it with your best friend?
So why don’t these brohemoths of brosketball make up over bag of brotato chips or an ice cold brosicle?
Maybe lift weights with Bromelo Anthony, and afterwards drink a brotein shake. I mean, they could be the ultimate duo playing on opposite teams, just like Broba Fett and Han Brolo. Share a bucket of popcorn over a movie like Brobo Cop or Nabrolean Dynamite.
So, these two need to shake hands, set aside their differences, and move on. It’s time to realize we can all live harmoniously as bromosapiens.
