The Oklahoma City Thunder once had what was thought to be the NBA’s next great team with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden on the same roster together.
But it ended in 2016 when Durant left in free agency to join the Golden State Warriors, and some speculated that he had a rift with Westbrook. In fact, leaked media from a recent game between Durant’s Phoenix Suns and Westbrook’s Los Angeles Clippers appeared to show them talking some serious trash.
LEAKED Audio Of Russell Westbrook Trash Talking Kevin Durant & Jusuf Nurkic👀:
Russ: “What you say you gonna do? Shut your sorry a** up”
Nurkic: “That’s why they got you on the bench”
Then, Durant says: “You’re not like that, slim”
Russ replies: “Yes, I am” pic.twitter.com/gNUp2qX2nq
— LegendZ (@legendz_nba) January 10, 2024
Westbrook is seen tell Suns big man Jusuf Nurkic, “Turn around you sorry motherf—–.” That’s when Durant responds with, “Ey, that b—- can’t talk to you like that.”
Back when the Thunder were still known as the Seattle SuperSonics, they drafted Durant with the No. 2 overall pick in 2007 and then took Westbrook at No. 4 the following June. With Harden joining them during the 2009-10 campaign, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before they would at least be playing for the NBA championship.
The Thunder got to the 2012 NBA Finals, where they lost in five games to LeBron James’ Miami Heat. At the time, it looked like they were just getting started and that their Finals loss would merely be a case of them failing forward.
But they traded Harden just months later, and they never got back to the title series.
After Durant left, Westbrook carried the Thunder by putting up insane numbers, but he had little support, and he was finally sent away to the Houston Rockets in 2019. Meanwhile, Durant teamed up with Stephen Curry and a Warriors team that had just won a league-record 73 games and came within one win of a world title.
Durant and Golden State did win the Larry O’Brien Trophy in 2017 and 2018, with Durant winning the Finals MVP both times. However, many still refuse to give him credit for both rings, as they feel he merely rode the coattails of Curry and the core of the squad that won it all in 2015.
After leaving Golden State in 2019 to join the Brooklyn Nets, the 2014 regular season MVP was traded to the Suns midway through last season. Some felt the Suns were the favorites this season in the Western Conference, but through 37 games, they have a mediocre 19-18 record, even though Durant has put up outstanding numbers.
