The home team locker room at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas is as plush and comfortable as one would expect for a top NBA team.
For some players, the amenities themselves might be the source of comfort, but for Houston Rockets center Clint Capela and forward Luc Mbah a Moute, the proximity of their individual lockers is what does the trick.nfl authentic jerseys cheap
Capela, the son of Congolese and Angolan immigrants to Switzerland, and the Cameroonian Mbah a Moute are engaged in a grueling Western Conference playoff battle against the defending champion Golden State Warriors, and face a deciding Game 7 at the Toyota Center in Houston.
Their bond, which began last offseason when the pair met at, and played in, the NBA Africa game in South Africa, has been their best source of comfort this busy season, though neither asked to be placed side by side in the changeroom.
“I didn’t set it up. When I walked in I was sitting next to him so that really helped as well. We just really connected and on the road we’re next to each other [in the visiting locker room],” Mbah a Moute, who recently recovered from a shoulder injury, tells KweséESPN.
The decision to sit them next to each other has led to the French speakers developing a brotherly bond over basketball, soccer and music, and they have enjoyed being able to connect in their mother tongue.
“[He’s] a big brother to me. We talk like every single day, of course in French. [Our] relationship has been going really well. I just enjoy being next to him every single day here,” Capela says.
The Cameroonian agrees: “We talk music and [tell] jokes in French. A lot of jokes. Just jokes all day long, on the plane. Next to each other. Just talking about the same music, dancing sometimes.
“I just enjoy to have the chance to speak French with a guy like him [on the same team]. I just love that.
“Obviously off the court we spend some time, we speak French, we go eat. Listen to the same music. We have a lot of stuff in common. We talk about soccer from [Africa], from France and all that stuff.”custom nfl jerseys cheap
Last American summer, Capela was coming off a season in which he showed intriguing potential and found himself playing in his first NBA Africa game, alongside one of Rockets general manager Daryl Morey’s new signings, the veteran Mbah a Moute.
