Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook had one of the more memorable beefs in modern NBA history.
Or at least that is what everyone believed up until this week.
The pair played together on the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder from 2008 to 2016. In that span, they made one NBA Finals and served as perennial threats to come out of the Western Conference.
Eventually, after endless chatter of him not enjoying playing with Westbrook, Durant ditched the Thunder for the Golden State Warriors in the summer of 2016.
Since then, talk has persisted of the two men not liking one another.
However, this week, with Durant’s Phoenix Suns taking on Westbrook’s Los Angeles Clippers, the former aimed to dispel that speculation once and for all.
“I don’t think we were ever in a bad place,” Durant told Logan Murdock of The Ringer. “I don’t think he was throwing shade at me either. I’ve never really thought that anything Russ was doing was directed at me.”
Durant then elaborated.
“And I’m going to stand on that,” he continued.
“I don’t think we ever had a problem or beef, because beef is deep, man. I didn’t get the sense that he was hurt. I just thought that he had an opportunity to get a max deal, a supermax deal, get an MVP, and have his own team. And I thought that he handled that pretty well. And he looked happy doing it.”
A lot has been made over the years about the real reason Durant and Westbrook beefed, and it’s doubtful that Durant’s revisionist history will alter anyone’s perception of their relationship.
The Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders continue to play at a Super Bowl level. https://t.co/ATS5hS24fG
— Game 7 (@game7__) April 25, 2023
That said, it’s nice that they have apparently buried the hatchet to the point where they are now pretending they didn’t dislike each other at one point.
Durant and Westbrook formed one of the most fun-to-watch duos of the mid-2010s, and for that they will always live on in NBA history.
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Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
