Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook go back to the beginning.
The point guards – who will square off Monday night when the Thunder face the Knicks at Madison Square Garden – were the first and fourth picks, respectively, in the 2008 NBA Draft, and they formed a relationship leading up to that draft that’s continued since.
“We worked out a whole draft class and a couple years after that as well, all the time,” Westbrook told reporters in New York Monday at the Thunder’s shootaround. “So definitely a respect there.”
Westbrook and Rose share a Los Angeles-based trainer.