Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were Oklahoma City Thunder teammates for eight seasons before Durant ditched. Entering the 2016-17 season, there was rampant discussion about the relationship between the two superstars. As the season wore on, the answer was clear: Russ wasn’t messing with KD anymore.
When the NBA All-Star Game came around, the former teammates would reunite for one night. But before the game, things got pretty awkward. When reporters tried getting Westbrook to answer questions about his former teammate, he would ignore the question.
"Man, you know what, fashion week has been great," Westbrook said in response to a question about Durant. "You seen fashion week? You been paying attention to fashion week? Man, a lot of great-looking things at fashion week I'm looking forward to, new collections. It's been good."
When another reporter tried getting Russ to elaborate on Durant, he continued with "Man, you seen the new Public School clothing? Crazy. They got the new Jordan hoodie with MJ. It's crazy, man. A lot of new great things with fashion week I've seen, man. What else is out? Gucci. The new Gucci stuff is dope. It's good stuff, man."
The All-Star guard was clearly hurt by Duranula’s decision to exit OKC, and rightly so. The Thunder held a 3-1 lead over the 73-win Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. KD had arguably the most talented roster in the NBA. But instead of giving it another go with OKC, he pulled the old “can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”
KD and Russ have their first moment amid ‘beef’
The 2017 All-Star Game was highly anticipated. Sure, the dunks, long-distance shots, and park-style dribbles were fun to watch, but everyone was waiting for Russ and KD to share the court together.
In the first quarter, Westbrook ran up the court and flipped the ball to Durant. KD immediately tossed the ball toward the rim in Westbrook’s direction for a sweet alley-oop. The West bench was going nuts. The ice between the ex-besties was finally broken. In ensuring regular season matchups, Russ and KD kept that same competitive energy, particularly during a November 2017 exhibition when the two came forehead-to-forehead.
Time heals all wounds
Pardon the terrible cliche — but it’s true that Westbrook and Durant are well past their “beefy” days. Ahead of their playoff matchup in the first round of the 2023 playoffs, Russ and KD squashed whatever remaining beef they might have had.
The Clippers point guard expressed that it would be normal for him, noting that people might still think there is some beef between them, but there isn't. He has nothing but respect for Kevin and his career achievements and is happy to see him back from injury.
Durant acknowledged that Russ is competitive against any player he faces, not just him specifically. Having played with and watched Westbrook for so long, the star forward knows that the athletic guard is always competitive, so he doesn't expect anything different.
As both players are now in an advanced phase of their careers, remembering their days as teammates is a fond memory. They reached the NBA Finals and gave us many highlights as arguably the league’s most dynamic tandem from 2008 to 2016.
Related: “Is this going to work?” - Stephen Curry was a ‘little insecure’ when Kevin Durant arrived at the Warriors
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