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Partial Qualifier
4/19/2011, 08:52 PM
i know I know, "GQWTF??" but this was a pretty good read.


"He's terrible at soccer. Terrible. He's from another country, so you're thinking he'll be good at soccer. But he's terrible." This is Eric Maynor, the Thunder's backup point guard, going on the offensive against big man Serge Ibaka. Maynor, who dresses closest to the entrance, has every reason to treat the media like a bad draft. But this is a social team—and one that loves to talk ****. That's how he's both the most approachable and most acerbic pregame voice. Ibaka's locker is fifteen feet away from Maynor's, but anyone speaking up in this locker room makes sure everyone else can hear. Especially when it's about video games. Marathon video-game sessions are an important part of this team's buddy-buddy image, but they're also fertile ground for insult and humiliation. During the preseason, Ibaka—a native of Congo-Brazzaville—got a rise out of Maynor by taunting, "I beat you FIFA!" Future, past, subjunctive; like Dikembe Mutombo, Ibaka uses his imperfect English and shot-blocker's timing to his comedic advantage. (At one point, he tells me that he's headed back to the Congo for "a family matter," then laughs in my face the second I buy it.) Stretched out next to Ibaka between two chairs is Westbrook. When I ask Ibaka to clear up the FIFA controversy, Westbrook loudly announces that Ibaka doesn't even have a gaming system at his house, the lowest of locker-room blows. Ibaka accuses Westbrook of not playing real video games—"only Wii," which he pronounces like the haughty, airy French oui.



"Serge," Westbrook says, "do you even know what a video game is?"



"Wii!"


Read More: http://www.gq.com/sports/guides/201103/nba-guide/oklahoma-city-thunder#ixzz1K1YIScdu



http://www.gq.com/sports/guides/201103/nba-guide/oklahoma-city-thunder

stoopified
4/24/2011, 09:18 AM
Good stuff