Danny Glover & Bernie Sanders Have This In Common

If you're a basketball fan and/or a political junkie, odds are you noticed something rather peculiar Monday night. Vermont senator and Democratic presidential longshot Bernie Sanders was in California, naturally, but not where you might expect. Instead of touring some college campus or holding a political rally, the progressive firebrand was at Oracle Arena in Oakland to take in the second half of the NBA's Western Conference Finals Game 7, along with a familiar face from the acting world. Are Bernie Sanders and Danny Glover friends?

Maybe you're not a sports fan and thus didn't see it live, but Sanders arrived at around halftime of the hotly anticipated, decisive game between the Golden State Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder, and he was joined at the hip with the 69-year-old actor. It was enough to make one wonder whether Glover and Sanders are actually buddies, or whether the Lethal Weapon star was simply a very impassioned supporter. There's no doubt that Glover has been an asset to the Sanders campaign ― he's been publicly and proudly backing the candidate for months.

Monday night was perhaps the first, best example of the pair chumming it up in public, though Sanders obviously had his own political motives for being there ― earlier Monday, Sanders donned a Warriors cap at a rally and asked the crowd whether it assured him a win in the California primary.

So are they friends? That's how the Daily Mail described the relationship after speaking with Glover last week, and frankly, it's not that tough a sell. Simply judging by the images from the game last night, they looked pretty happy to be hanging out. And they were reportedly sitting in seats likely valued at more than $1,000 apiece, on a night when the average ticket price ran to $960. Suffice to say, if you're going to see that game live with someone, they probably qualify as your friend. Even if they weren't before, they sure are now.

Perhaps more importantly from Sanders' perspective, though, Glover has been one of his most outspoken and ardent supporters in the entertainment world. In April, he wrote a blog post for The Huffington Post condemning Paul Krugman of The New York Times for his criticisms of Sanders, and he's even gone so far as to compare the junior Vermont senator to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Suffice to say, Glover is all-in for Sanders, and considering he recorded a commercial for the candidate, it seems like the feeling is mutual.

The celebrity endorsement hasn't necessarily had much meaningful impact on the race, however ― Sanders is still trailing Clinton by virtually prohibitive margins in the pledged delegate count, and despite his attempt to seize a little Warriors mojo on Monday night, he's currently polling slightly behind in California, where he needs an absolutely massive landslide win to keep his hopes alive.