Kevin Durant and DeAndre Jordan has become closer friend during Olympic Games. Their friendship began 10 years ago and getting stronger ever since. Especially when they are now in the same team, playing for USA in the Olympic Games.
In 2006, Durant was admitted to University of Texas to join the famous Texas Longhorn basketball team. That was the first time he met Jordan, who was born in Houston, Texas. According to RealGM, Durant tried to convince Jordan to join him. A year later, Jordan was admitted to Longhorn's rival, University of Texas A&M, but their friendship has grown.
Durant went professional in 2007, a year after his NCAA career, and Jordan followed him next year. They both was drafted by different teams. Durant was in Seattle Supersonics, which now relocates to Oklahoma and becoming Oklahoma City Thunder, while Jordan was drafted by Los Angeles Clippers.
Although they have been rivals since college which continue in their NBA carwer, but they have become a close friend since then. Following the end of Durant's contract with Thunder, Jordan convinced him to join Clippers.
"I tried every day. We had a shot. And if you ask him, he'd say we had a shot. People can be happy for him, mad at him, but at the end of the day, he did what was best for Kevin, and he can live with that," said Jordan to Michael Lee from The Vertical as quoted by Uproxx.
However, Jordan's effort is fruitless. Since his best friend select the rival Golden State Warriors. Los Angeles Clippers fans hates Warriors as the rival team more than they hate Lakers.
Now in the USA basketball team, they finally become team mate, and they make the most of it. Outside the court, both Jordan and Durant spent their time cheering up for other athlete. They were in Michael Phelps' swimming and also appear in beach volleyball event.
As for their performance, Durant is now the leading scorer in the US men's basketball Olympic team with 60 percent field goal and 60 percent three-point field goal. Nevertheless, after Olympic fanfare end, Durant and Jordan will have go back to their professional life and become rivals again.