The OKC Thunder built the best roster in their team’s history around Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, the only two players to win MVP in an OKC jersey. However, fans rained down boos on Durant on his recent return to the city with the Phoenix Suns.
The boos continue for Kevin Durant in OKC. #Suns #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/yjzsdyWG60
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) March 30, 2024
In contrast, Westbrook regularly receives standing ovations from Thunder fans whenever he returns to the franchise.
Russ acknowledging the standing ovation from the crowd 🥺pic.twitter.com/LwAsuh7tKx
— ThunderND (@ThunderND) December 22, 2023
Durant left the Thunder in the summer of 2016, making him even more hated than LeBron James in 2010 because KD joined a 73-9 team that beat him in the Western Conference Finals. Nobody was more hurt than Thunder fans, so it’ll take years before that fanbase can start to treat Durant normally.
KD averaged 27.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in OKC and won the 2014 MVP on the franchise. He was also crucial in their only Finals appearance as a franchise with the OKC name in 2012.
Westbrook left the Thunder when the team traded him to the Houston Rockets in 2019 for Chris Paul. It was a very amicable split, as OKC began rebuilding by acquiring picks and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from the Clippers in a different trade. Westbrook left the team as a franchise legend, winning the 2017 MVP for averaging a historic triple-double over a season upon KD’s departure.
Westbrook may forever be remembered as the greatest Thunder player ever, averaging 23.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 8.4 assists over a 10-year stint with the franchise.
Will OKC Reconcile With Kevin Durant?
Kevin Durant is arguably the third-greatest player of his era behind LeBron James and Stephen Curry. The fact that the only title he won in his career came with an overly stacked Warriors roster while failing in OKC and Brooklyn has soured the taste of his career for many fans and analysts.
Analyzing Durant’s career like this is not fair as he’s been one of the greatest scorers the game has ever seen. OKC is where he made the biggest impact of his career, so he and the fanbase need to reconcile if Durant wants at least one franchise to retire his jersey.
“OKC has to retire my jersey. It wouldn’t even be good for the game of basketball if they didn’t. The same with Golden State… I feel like I am basketball. I breathe it. This is my DNA. I put in the time and respect and love for each one of these programs on and off the floor to get that type of recognition. If I don’t do it, then it’s personal.”
Westbrook’s jersey will hang in the OKC rafters almost instantly after his retirement, and the same can’t be said about Durant. He has campaigned for jersey retirements in both OKC and Golden State, but neither franchise would do that if he can’t reconcile with the fans.
Warriors’ Durant was there for only three years, so he likely won’t get a retirement there, but the Thunder were his team for a decade and he brought them as much success as possible without winning an NBA title.
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