Reliving Russell Westbrook’s best moments from his OKC Thunder tenure
By Alex Mcewen
Modern rivalry, with old-school flare
Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant have a lot of history together. Heck, up until Patrick Beverly busted up Russell’s knee in the 2013 playoffs, Durant never played a game for the Thunder, without Russ.
All great partnerships must come to an end, for one reason or another. After Klay Thomspon shot the lights out in Game 6 of the 2016 playoffs, the door was all but officially closed on the KD era in the 405.
However, no one, especially Westbrook, could have fathomed Durant would depart in the manner he did. Maybe Russ and KD never particularly cared for each other, perhaps they were simply colleagues, nobody is going to like everybody they ever work with. One thing is certain, their relationship was permanently changed on July 4, 2016. Which, led to one of the greatest rivalries in modern NBA history.
This is what youth basketball coach and longtime Thunder fan Tony Heim recalls from the Russ vs. KD feud and Russell’s time in Oklahoma City overall:
“Russ standing up to KD was valiant. From the legendary petty moves off the court (the cupcakes and photographer vest) to his all-out play on the court, Russ truly stood up for Oklahoma City when we all had lost hope. Sure he never won anything, but he proved to fans that this organization would not crumble from one man’s departure.”
Sports host and reporter for KDFW Fox 4 Sam Gannon, who previously covered Westbrook for KOKH Fox 25 in Oklahoma City shared this:
“My top Russell moment would definitely be him re-signing exactly one month after KD signed with the Warriors. He really gave the entire city hope after what no one expected went down. I was there that day for the press conference. It was just such a cool moment for the franchise. He’s forever a legend because of that!”
Owner and operator of OKC’s award-winning food truck The Saucee Sicilian, Gannon Mendez recollected his memories from that initial match against Durant as well:
“The best (on-court) memory I have is him telling KD exactly what every Thunder fan wanted to say to him; Traitor!”