A Mad Men guide to the 2018-19 NBA Season

“That’s what the money is for!”- Oklahoma City Thunder

Trying to find the perfect NBA fit for the most famous quote by arguably the greatest character in television history was not easy.

Nearly every team in the league has some grossly overpaid player, but this line is about more than money. It is a clash of the Titans: Peggy’s indignant yet impassioned plea for appreciation vs. Don’s callous stubbornness over the way things have always been done. The proper recipient has to be a party that lives in a constant state of discontent despite overt efforts to get both our attention and our admiration.

Russell Westbrook, come on down.

Russ not only wants our love, but he wants it unconditionally. Us mere mortals are not worthy to bask in the glory of his triple doubles and then question the manner in which he provides them (come to think of it, Colonel Jessup from A Few Good Men might be Westbrook’s perfect cinematic doppelgänger). One gets the sense that Russ could be named Time’s Man of the Year and still find something to be pissed off about.

Are there legitimate questions about whether he’ll ever be able to succeed in the playoffs? Yes. Do the Warriors fear to play him in the least? Nope. Could a contract that pays him $205 million over the next five seasons look really bad, really soon if there’s even a slight dip in the athleticism that keeps his whole operation running? Absolutely.

In Russ’ book, these are all conversations for another day. He wants his due. And he’s not afraid to let everyone know it.