The Kevin Durant-Russell Westbrook narrative has been a wonderful addition to the sports media rotation since Kevin Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors. The pair came into the league only one year apart from each other, saw early success together, grew up in the league together and, together, tasted the bitterness of defeat, having come just short of the ever-valuable, career-redeeming championship ring that every player so desperately seeks. One of the closest they had come was last year’s Western Conference Finals. They had established a 3-1 lead against the basketball behemoth, the Warriors, the regular season kings of the league, only to see it disappear and to lose the series, dropping the last three games.
With media and fans aware of the upcoming free agency of Kevin Durant approaching, a return to Oklahoma City was expected. The Thunder was able pay him more than any other team, the team is a title contender every year, he was there for virtually his entire career, plus Russell Westbrook is a top-5 NBA player, and they had each other’s back unquestionably.
But apparently the allure of brighter pastures was too much for Mr. Durant. Kevin Durant is like that partner in a couple that is plenty happy, yet he decides to end the relationship for a different partner that he thinks could ensure better happiness. He had everything he could ever want in the original relationship, he wasn’t unhappy by any means. Yet, the potential of that other partner could lead to more happiness, in his own mind. And hey, maybe he’s right. Maybe he’ll have found his new long-term relationship, maybe it will lead to long-term happiness, and maybe it comes to be everything he had anticipated. But the satisfaction and fulfillment that would come from living successfully and happily with the person he evolved with, the person he built an empire with, and the person who had experienced the highs and lows with him may not taste as sweet as his newfound success will.
Am I being a bit dramatic? Absolutely. But isn’t that the epitome of sports media? Isn’t that exactly what it’s built upon? Overblowing stories, overanalyzing situations, and amplifying the magnitude of team transactions or game outcomes is what sports media is all about. Is KD leaving the Thunder and telling Russell Westbrook over a text all that important in the realm of things? No way. But is it fun to blow it up and make a story of it? Unquestionably.
It would be lame and boring to simply note that the first meeting of the season between the Thunder and Warriors is nothing more than former superstar teammates facing off for the first time. Instead, let’s note the additional attributes that make the story great: the strength and longevity of the relationship, the team KD went to (the best regular season team of all-time, the team he couldn’t get past in the playoffs, the team he blew a commanding playoff series lead against), the way he left Oklahoma City, the lack of reaching out to Westbrook after his decision to leave, the flak that KD has received from media and fans, the decision by Westbrook to sign an extension with the Thunder, the tough early season losses the Warriors have taken, the otherworldly early season performances Westbrook has shown without KD, the non-acknowledgement between KD and Westbrook before tipoff of their first matchup, the trash-talk against KD from Westbrook’s teammate Enes Kanter, the wicked block on Durant from Westbrook, the explosive performance by KD in the game, and the acknowledgment and anticipation of future games mentioned by Westbrook after the game.
Isn’t that much more vivid and satisfying? Isn’t that virtually a soap opera with a sports setting? Watching the games is plenty fun, but the backstory makes it that much sweeter. I know I’ll be tuned into the next episode of the season one of the KD-Westbrook Rivalry: A Story of Betrayal and Loyalty.
