Saturday night is going to be a great night for the NBA. That explains why they slotted this game in the primetime section for the season. The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on The Golden State Warriors, but that's not the real storyline for this game on Saturday night. That night is the return of Kevin Durant to OKC, where he played with the Thunder/Supersonics for the first nine seasons of his career. This game is expected to be packed and high energy, as Durant won't only be facing Westbrook, but he will be against a stadium full of fans he betrayed and left hanging.
Only one person will be cheering for him and that's his momma, but what mother wouldn't cheer on her own son, right?
Who got beef? They do
This game wouldn't be this hyped up if KD or Russell Westbrook didn't have an NBA offseason worth of beef back and forth from the media. This all started when KD made the move that Stephen A. Smith called "the most cowardly move by a superstar ever" (ESPN), leaving OKC to sign with Golden State. Going to a team that beat you in the conference finals, not to mention coming back from 3-1 deficit on you, makes it seem like you can't beat them by yourself. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em right? But that's not where the beef started. It started brewing because according to Westbrook, he found out about the news of Durant's departure just like everyone else, from media.
Now
But that's not where the beef started. It started brewing because according to Westbrook, he found out about the news of Durant's departure just like everyone else, from media. Now Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook seemed to have a great relationship, from Durant speaking about Russ during his MVP speech and defending him when Mark Cuban came at him as well.
But not telling your "brother" you're leaving to sign with another team? That's what left Westbrook hanging.
It didn't stop there. Durant was commenting on how his teammates at Golden State were "selfless players" (ESPN). That got back to Russ and he didn't take to kindly to those comments but took the high road on multiple occasions when it seemed Durant was taking shots at the Thunder.
To this day, KD and Russ have not talked in depth, but in their most recent game at Golden State, they were seen having a little discussion during a dead whistle.
Nobody knows what was said between the two, but I'm sure people would pay money to hear what was said in the small dialogue. KD and Westbrook are having great seasons, with Russell being a triple-double machine, and KD being an efficient player with his new team. Russ is on a revenge tour and he is more than ready to make Durant feel the wrath of Russell on Saturday night, in his house.
The fans vs. Durant
The people who were hurt the most by Durant's departure are the fans. They had a strong love for KD, as he had given the city new life through his phenomenal play, and numerous contributions to the city.
The fans were truly hurt by his departure, many of them burning his jersey and any resemblance of his existence in OKC. Durant knows he has hurt some fans with his departure, and he isn't expecting a warm welcome when he returns to OKC.
In an ESPN interview with Marc Stein, he says he knows no matter what reception he gets his move will live forever in infamy. "No matter what goes on [Saturday night in OKC] -- cheers, boos -- I know that stuff will be remembered, and it's something that I'm always going to remember." Many people are expecting him to receive boos. But there will be fans who are grateful for him bringing up a rather sliding franchise into a household name. This game hopefully lives up to the hype and we get a battle between two superstars who once called each other brothers and are now foes.
