Pro athletes’ pre-game routines have long been the source of entertainment and intrigue for fans — players are known to mix in a whole range of rituals and superstitions to prepare for competition. In a newly published edition of GQ’s Real Life Diet, which focuses on the routines of “high-performing people,” Washington Wizards star Russell Westbrook laid out the meal he’s had before every game since high school: not one, but two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Westbrook also throws in some fruit and plain pasta, but for the 32-year-old point guard, nothing compares to PB&Js.

“I just like peanut butter,” he said in the interview. “It creates a consistency on how your body feels, that’s the most important part. At least for me, I know how my body is going to react to it, I know how much I need to eat to feel like I’m in a good position.”

Westbrook has been on an incredible tear lately, setting new records and bringing the Wizards into playoff contention after a sluggish start to the season. The team has won 14 of its last 20 games, including an eight-game win streak that can largely be attributed to all-star performances from Westbrook and scoring phenom Bradley Beal. This week, Westbrook became the first NBA player in history to record more than one triple-double with at least 20 assists and 20 rebounds. Westbrook is, for the fourth time in five seasons, averaging a triple-double — as in, his points, rebounds, and assists are consistently in the double digits. Put simply, as head coach Scott Brooks told Washington City Paper, “What he does, there’s no point guard has ever done it.”

While Westbrook may be a possible MVP, peanuts are the obvious stars of the GQ interview. Westbrook mentions peanuts and peanut butter seven times throughout the Q&A — eight, if you count his mention of his favorite candy bar, PayDay, which is filled with salted peanuts.

Describing his recovery methods, he says, “For me, I like to drink shakes and smoothies, peanut butter, but I love peanut butter.”

As weird as it may sound, Westbrook isn’t the only NBA player who supercharges with the classic elementary school snack. A few years ago, ESPN did an exposé of the NBA’s secret addiction to the sandwich. During the 2007-2008 season, after a teammate requested the sandwiches to help cure mid-game hunger, Celtics great Kevin Garnett declared, “We’re going to need PB&J in here every game now.” The customizable sandwiches (some preferred crunchy over smooth peanut butter, or strawberry over grape jelly) ultimately led Boston to an NBA title that year, and the food trend soon spread throughout the league.

According to ESPN, some scientists attribute the addiction to a tightly packed combination of chemicals — fats, sugars, starches, proteins and salts — which release endorphins in the brain. For Westbrook, it’s much simpler, per GQ: “A peanut butter and jelly, to me, holds on to your body throughout the game—you don’t feel hungry and you don’t feel like you don’t have enough energy. It’s something that works for me.”

Plus, as far as pre-game rituals go, a quick sandwich fix is definitely not as off-the-wall as Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin’s penchant for pre-game sex.

The NBA’s Eastern Conference race is still tight, so hey, whatever works, right?