Kevin Durant returned to Oklahoma City on Wednesday for the only the second time since leaving for Golden State in a matchup against his former squad. The media fanfare leading up to the star-studded game was a bit tepid compared to Durant’s return last year.
As expected, all eyes were on Durant vs. Russell Westbrook and how the two would fare head-to-head. Westbrook now has a couple of All-Stars in Paul George and Carmelo Anthony to help mend the void left by Durant. After the game though, Durant and his mom Wanda Durant, felt that the focus on he and Westbrook took away from the game.
“It’s not about me and Russ,” Durant told ESPN. “It’s about the Thunder and the Warriors. Myself and Russ are competing out there. That’s part of the game. It’s basketball. It’s not about us. We’re just playing the game, and trash talking is part of it. That’s all it is.”
Wanda Durant thought that the game-within-the-game was “too overhyped.”
“It’s OKC,” Wanda said to ESPN. “It’s the same atmosphere that they’ve always had, so we wouldn’t expect anything different. I just think it’s too hyped. It’s just basketball. Not even as a fan and being here and watching both of them, I really don’t get it. But it is what it is.”
Whenever Durant and the Warriors meet the Thunder, the underlining theme will always be the situation between he and the team that drafted him. The discussion will only continue if Durant proceeds to give interviews to talk about the relationship.
The best possible way for everyone to move on – if that’s what Durant and mom truly want – is for Durant to stop talking about it to the media.
The Thunder now have a team that can theoretically compete with any team in the western conference, including the Warriors. If competition is the narrative Durant wants to push out there, it starts with him.
