Kevin Durant thought he was ready for Russell Westbrook to retire. He was not.
On his “Boardroom Talks” podcast this week, Durant opened up about how Westbrook’s announcement earlier this month hit harder than he expected. The two came into the NBA together in Oklahoma City in 2007, spent nine years as teammates, went to a Finals, and left as one of the most talented young duos in the league’s history. That kind of bond does not go away because of a trade demand or a Finals run in another city.
“It just hit me, man, because it’s just like that’s one of the first dudes you come in with and you was around every day to finally step out of this s—,” Durant said. “A lot of the guys that have been younger than me or drafted after me have retired, but I wasn’t as close to them as I was to Russ. It was somebody I felt like could still play. It surprised me.”
That is the truth of the NBA at this point in Durant’s career. His generation is walking away. Chris Paul retired last year. Carmelo has been retired for a while. Now Westbrook, at 37 after 18 seasons. Durant is 37 himself and playing for the Houston Rockets. He is running out of guys who came up when he did.
The Westbrook piece hits differently because of history. When Durant left OKC for Golden State in 2016, the two of them had a fractured public relationship for years. Westbrook publicly criticized the move. Durant fired back multiple times. They played each other in bitter games. It was one of the most awkward and personal splits in NBA history.
They eventually made peace. Durant said this week he has not spoken to Westbrook since the retirement announcement but expects to “run into him at some point as we move forward in life.” That is a healed version of a relationship that was famously broken for a long stretch. Time does its work.
Westbrook could have kept playing. That is what Durant found strange. Russ averaged solid numbers in his final year with a bench role in Denver and looked capable of another season somewhere. He chose to be done. Every player gets to that decision differently, and Westbrook decided he was done.
Durant also has thought about retirement occasionally, though he has given no real indication he is walking away anytime soon. He has said publicly he wants to keep playing as long as he is competitive, and Houston still gives him a real chance to compete. Rockets fans do not need to panic.
The Westbrook chapter closing is a marker for the whole era, though. Durant just felt it more than most.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
