Hardwood Paroxysm presents: When the NBA and video games collide

Comparisons are commonplace in sports. We compare the current best team to the best teams of the past, liken Kobe Bryant, LeBron James or Kevin Durant to Michael Jordan, proclaim some young prospect to be the Next Great Thing, even go so far as to weigh a college team versus a professional team. But all of these comparisons are done within the sport, or at least within the realm of sports.

We thought that was boring, so we went ahead and compared NBA players and coaches to video games, because that’s just so much more exciting.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are Jak and Daxter

by David Vertsberger (@_Verts)

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are one destructive combination. They’ve arguable been the league’s most frightening duo since afro’d Kobe and Shaq from the early 2000’s. On the court, the two have complimented eachother exceedingly well given the overlap in their games and any friction in their off-court relationship has resided in the flimsiest of rumor mills.

So why Jak and Daxter? There are countless video game twosomes that have conquered every digital foe sent their way. Well just like with Durant and Westbrook, it’s less about what they’ve done but the juxtaposition of how the two do it.

Have a look at Durant, who went from rising star who was criticized for being “too nice” turned deadeye killer who, when healthy, is damn near unstoppable. Durant doesn’t care about what you think of him. He does his job of dominating the basketball court with an ice-cold demeanor and scary efficiency. Similarly, the protagonist of the Jak and Daxter series starts off in the first game as a mute, seemingly friendly character who even when beating bad guys up and down Sandover Village almost comes off as harmless in his cartoonishness. Then Jak II comes around with Jak having being aged by a couple of years. From this point on he’s a low-toned, take-no-prisoners, hellbent-on-getting-what-he-wants badass. He has more weapons in his arsenal than he does facial expressions or patience. Oh, and he uses them to his advantage.

Now for their counterparts. If ever in doubt before, Westbrook is now being considered a near-equal with how convincingly he’s carried the Durant-less Thunder this season. That doesn’t mean he isn’t the same eccentric, balls-to-the-wall player that’s consumed his narrative for so long. Despite his skill, Westbrook’s still very much a comic relief character in the league in his playstyle. It’s almost squirrelish the way Westbrook zigs and zags all over the court with no concern for person ailment. Enter Daxter, who after slowly receiving missions focused solely on him as the series progressed finally earned himself a PSP spin-off that was a great game and performance by the rodent (he’s an ottsel – a mix between an otter and weasel) who until then would mostly be around for the giggles. Fans of the series can no longer dismiss Daxter as a mere sidekick or jokester. His skills are real and the results are there, as is the case with Westbrook. His high-pitched and never-ending voice sticks out in a story essentially filled with serious characters talking in serious tones. His uniqueness is part of his charm, or rather is his charm entirely. It’s why we love him. It’s why we love Westbrook.

Put these two together and the scripts start to sound familiar. The sidekick can no longer be considered just that, and the hero has gone from boyish to burly and cartoonish to threatening. They both need each other greatly, despite what others may think. Together, well, don’t get on their bad side.