Luc Mbah a Moute excited to reunite with Russell Westbrook

Westbrook and Mbah a Moute are teammates in Houston for the first time since their days at UCLA, which culminated with two Final Four trips.

The story of newcomer Luc Mbah a Moute reuniting with the Houston Rockets is well known. But he’s also joining forces with former college teammate Russell Westbrook, who he played with in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

The Bruins made the NCAA Final Four in both of those seasons, and they haven’t returned in more than a decade since.

Now 33 years old, Mbah a Moute set to reunite with Westbrook for the first time since those UCLA years. In an interview Tuesday with Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston, Mbah a Moute referred to the nine-time NBA All-Star and 2017 MVP as the “only teammate” from his college days that he wanted to team up at the NBA level with. His comments:

That’s very exciting. I never had a chance to play with Russ in the league. So this is going to be our first time getting back together since college.

This is my only teammate that I played in college with that I wanted to play in the pros with. It’s always fun. We’ve always had so many memories, Russ and I from school. Now being on the same team, it’s going to be a lot of fun, a lot of laughs from some of the stuff we used to say. How we used to act. It’s just funny. I’m excited for sure to be back in the trenches with him.

After their last Final Four run at UCLA, Westbrook and Mbah a Moute were drafted No. 4 and No. 37, respectively, in the 2008 NBA Draft.

Westbrook has clearly been the superior player at the NBA level, but Mbah a Moute has carved out a role as a valuable role player with 3-point shooting and significant versatility on the defensive end.

It remains to be seen if Mbah a Moute can earn a rotation role in Houston, considering that it’s late in the 2019-20 season. However, his relationship with the organization after his 2017-18 campaign with the team and his personal friendship with Westbrook can’t hurt his chances.

[lawrence-related id=33458,33363]