Kevin Durant stunned the basketball world when he left the Oklahoma City Thunder to sign with the Golden State Warriors in 2016. The Thunder had just blown a 3-1 lead to the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, and Russell Westbrook spoke about his feelings from back then in a resurfaced clip from the Passion Play documentary.
“I’m pissed, I’m livid,” Westbrook said. “I felt like we let that opportunity slip away… I was just like, if we have the same team, we can do it again.”
That 2015-16 Thunder team was quite special. They had already pulled off a big upset by defeating the 67-15 San Antonio Spurs in six games in the Western Conference Semifinals. The Thunder then dominated the 73-9 Warriors through the first four games of their series, but were unable to get over the line.
Westbrook was understandably backing the Thunder to go all the way the following season if they kept the team together.
“Myself and Kevin had a unique situation,” Westbrook stated. “Because Kevin was really, really good early. I wasn’t that great. Kevin was always getting better… My evolution happened pretty quickly to where, we never was equal, but we were pretty damn close of being able to hold our own and run the organization and do things that can change the game.”
Durant was unquestionably the best player on that Thunder team. He had won an MVP and four scoring titles by that point, but Westbrook wasn’t some slouch either. He had won a scoring title too in 2015 and had made five All-NBA teams at the end of that 2015-16 season.
Durant and Westbrook were arguably the best duo in the NBA in 2016, but the former decided he didn’t want to continue that partnership. He joined a Warriors team that he had just failed to close out, and his former co-star couldn’t believe it.
“I started laughing instantly,” Westbrook said. “I’m like, ‘This can’t be true.’ It’s like, ‘Nah, no way he would go to that team, they just beat us.'”
“I’m pissed. I’m livid. I feel like we let that opportunity slip away. I start laughing instantly I’m like this can’t be true, nah no way (KD) would go to that team, they just beat us.”
– Russ on KD leaving
(h/t @TheWestbrookEra )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 16, 2025
Well, no one could quite believe that Durant was doing this. Westbrook subtly threw shade at his former teammate back then by referring to him as a cupcake for the decision.
Durant unsurprisingly made a Warriors team that already had Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green an unstoppable force. They had blown a 3-1 lead to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals, but a repeat wouldn’t happen the following year.
The Warriors crushed the Cavaliers in five games in the 2017 NBA Finals to finish the postseason with a 16-1 record, the best in league history. They’d win it all again in 2018, and the only reason they didn’t three-peat was injuries.
All certainly wasn’t well between Durant and Westbrook during those years, but tensions eased over time. Westbrook made it clear there is no beef now and that he has nothing but respect for Durant.
While Westbrook has gotten over the decision by now, a lot of basketball fans have not. Durant has spoken at length about why he decided to join the Warriors, but no explanation will ever justify the move in the minds of many. The now-Houston Rockets superstar realizes that a section of fans will never forgive him, but he isn’t losing sleep over it.
