Westbrook on KD leaving OKC: “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.”
Weakest move in sports history no way around it
Agreed. This guy blows a 3-1 lead while flirting with the Warriors. He claims it’s “The hardest road” leaving a championship caliber team for the team you blew a 3-1 lead in the same season to whilst being the main reason since, not to mention the team had the unanimous MvP and the best regular season record in history.
He then went to slander the Thunder online on his burner, but got caught because this fool forgot to switch off his main lmao.
To do this I still can’t believe people buy into him saying he wouldn’t have left if the Warriors won it all.
He was going to be a Cav if the warriors won back to back lol
Kevin Durant is only Christian because they lost the first crusade.
Alas, I have but one upvote to give.
The first crusade was quite successful. It was all the rest of them that were.. not.
That would be interesting.
Bron should have lost in 2016 so they could have won in 2017 and 18.
The best non-LeBron player (at that time) joined the best team ever. That’s pretty fucked
At 28 years old.
Right in the exact middle of his prime.
Dick was palling it up with the Warriors while Adams was still on the ground feeling the pain of getting kicked in the balls by Draymond again.
Could’ve at least owned it and just been like “yea i need me a ring” but nah tried to spin it as a respectable move too
And that team is 73-9 without him no less
Second weakest move was the Warrior players begging for him to join.
Third weakest move was claiming they never needed him after he left.
Idk about 2017 but they definitely needed him in 2018. 30ppg in the WCF and they barely won.
I think they woulda needed him in 2017 Cavaliers woulda wrecked that squad imo w/out KD
Well it wouldn’t have been the same squad, they gave up a lot of depth when they got KD and most likely would have improved the team in other ways if they hadn’t gotten him.
Not sure about wrecked, as in the warriors never would’ve had a chance, but definitely would’ve been closer, and I agree if forced, I’d probably put my money on the Cavs.
Either way, the fans were robbed of another all-time series, regardless of who would have won.
Agreed. What’s even crazier to think about though is imagine if after losing to the warriors then, Kd had the mentality of “I have to stay with Okc and beat the warriors,” and then they came back the next year and finally beat the warriors like Jordan finally beat the pistons. And then we had a final of the Cavs vs the Kd-Westbrook Thunder who were even better than the year before! Dammit Kd! What could’ve been!
I remember the Warriors were prepared to pivot to Horford if KD didn’t sign. I feel like if they kept the 2016 squad as is it would’ve been another coin flip in 2017 but lots of folks forget the Warriors really had so much cap space bc of the spike, a backup plan to acquire a star in Al, and likely could’ve retooled with a lot of good role players too
I mean they won another Championship after he left.
So they did prove they could do it without him before and after KD.
Fuck outta here, 2016 finals went to game 7 last minute. Warriors could have won at least 1 without KD in 2017 or 2018. People pretend like the Warriors lost 0-4 in the 2016 finals and it was inevitable that the Cavs would have won the next 2.
And also how the KD warriors cake walked the playoffs everywhere when they forget the rockets took them to 7 games and it took a generationally bad shooting performance and a cp3 injury for them to win
wasn’t that his point? that’s why it was a really weak move begging him to join
The “begging” narrative is hilarious when the move was being rumored a whole year before it happened. Anyone who was tapped in the blogs at the time remember ppl warning to look out for the Warriors in the KD sweepstakes because of the cap spike and the loophole that would afford them to add another max contract. Rich Kleiman himself has even said both sides had been putting feelers out a whole summer in advance.
The “Draymond cried in the car” is funny for folklore but it was already in motion.
The ring and SC’s fmvp without him says differently lol
They wouldn’t have had Wiggins without KD demanding a sign and trade
They had a max salary slot available in 16.
They just needed a 5% upgrade at the SF position from Harrison Barnes lol, many players would have sufficed
I’m a warriors fan, so I’m biased. But I’m not gonna pretend that they didn’t MASSIVELY benefit from KD. But they did win a championship after KD left while he hasn’t made it past the second round. Put some respect on Steph’s name.
Commenter above was talking about needing him to win those two chips when he was there, not after he left. No one is disrespecting your god
Curry Defense Squad is always ready
Dude unironically said “put some respect on Steph’s name” in 2025 lmfao
You’re at least one ring down without KD, the ‘17 cavs were a buzz saw. I could see you winning ‘18 pretty handily still assuming Kyrie still leaves and from there who knows
18 they almost lost to the rockets though, probably lose that series without KD
IDK if Kyrie has the balls to leave in 18 if the cavs are back to back champs but who knows hes a strange ass man
And I hate to admit as a Raptors fan, but if he’s fully healthy in 2019 there’s a very good chance they beat us. Not for certain, but a good chance.
The Harrison Barnes to KD upgrade really broke the league lmao
KD was basically shooting open jumpers and playing ISO all day as one of the greatest scorers of our generation was such a cheat code.
Bar none. KD was tasked with a lot with that OKC team but the only reason they didn’t go to the finals that year was an absolutely insane performance by Klay Thompson in game 6.
OKC built that team around KD and Russ. Yeah they didn’t surround him with great shooting but he had elite defenders including himself everywhere. Plus like the 1 fun Dion Waiters season.
No one looks at KD as a “champion” like they do other elite players who have won. Jokic and Giannis lone championships are easily worth more than KDs 2.
Dirk’s chip >>>>>> KD’s
To be fair dirk’s chip >>>> loads of other chips in nba history
That 2011 really has to be one of, if not the Greatest, title run off all time
Indiana’s would’ve been up there if they’d won imo
I wish I could upvote this more! Just couldn’t believe how far they got and then the injury happens. It was so hard to watch that game 7.
Super fun watching it happen and realizing that you’re never going to be more heartbroken over anything related to sports, ever
🚨 Boiling Hot Take 🚨
DAE think Goodfellas is a better movie than high school musical??
People also forget Horford was waiting on KDs decision to join the Thunder as well that offseason
Easily. SGA too. It’s why KD is jumping ship left and right to find that true championship. Reason he’s so sensitive to Barkley calling him a bus rider.
Every superstar is tasked with a lot.. Steph was tasked with a lot, LeBron was tasked with a lot, Jokic was tasked with a lot. Part of the role and KD wanted to be 2nd fiddle
I would say the biggest bitch move in the history of basketball. This is gonna be his legacy.
I consider it to be equal with his decision to leave the Warriors. He made a bold and unpopular decision then bitched out of it because he couldn’t take the heat.
If he were on year 8 as a warrior with 4+ rings then the criticism from the decision would have died down with success. His post warriors career only solidifies how he needed them more than they needed him.
When Steph won a ring after KD left, it absolutely torpedoed his legacy. Steph won before you were there, won when you were there, won after you left. And KD’s never made it happen anywhere else, never got closer than with OKC. Russ got as close in Houston as KD’s got since he got off Steph’s coattails.
It was at that point that nobody could rank KD ahead of Steph in the all-time rankings.
It basically boxed him out of the top 15.
Curry became my most hated player in the league after the KD signing. I felt like he had taken the easy way out by recruiting a fellow MVP to his 73-9 team. It’s why I rooted so hard for the Nets to win in 2021. After the Warriors won in 2022 with a noticeably worse team than the 2021 Nets, I had no choice but to accept Curry’s greatness.
Lol I love how kd owns the two biggest bitch moves in the history of basketball
I’ve never seen a weaker decision in sports. People might argue it’s the same things as Lebron James going to the Heat and I say to them, it is not even close, and Lebron’s decision was also weak it’s just I have never seen a “competitor” make the decision Durant did. They are completely stratospheres of weak.
Lebron went to Miami because his best teammates, all those years in Cleveland, were a slow footed center and an undersized SG playing PG. They couldn’t build around him at all. On the other hand, OKC was so close to beating the Warriors and if you ask me were probably the better team that series. Miami needed Lebron and Lebron carried them, it’s just he finally had real talent around him, and having someone who was a truly elite player but couldn’t push as hard given their injury history in Wade took some of the scoring load off James deep in the playoffs which paid off.
The Warriors didn’t need Durant, before or after, and OKC was clearly on the same par. Durant deserves his jouryman career after that. Great, HOF player but questionable competitor given his talent.
Yep. Ruined his whole legacy. Durant forever a bitch
Sad part I think KD himself even knows it
KD is like a ghost, shows up everywhere, footprints no where
It was never the fact that KD left. He was a Free Agent. It was the fact he was up 3-1 against those guys, lost the series bc of underperforming, and rather than run it back, he runs to the team that just cooked him. One of the weakest moves in NBA history.
And it wasn’t just any team that he’d lost to. It was the team that just set the record for most wins ever.
AND had won the title the previous year, and was tied with a minute left in game 7 of the finals the following year. I feel like nobody mentions this enough. That warriors team was a championship team, not just a 73 win team
Yeah they were good enough to beat the cavs, you donnt go up 3-1 for nothing KD tried to gaslight us to think it’s only about about their playstyle
I don’t think Durant was trying to gaslight or convince us. He was trying to convince himself that he made the right decision and he knows damn well that it was a dirty move, no matter what angle you look at it.
The entire sub was like this when they found out the already insane team was getting KD the next year and we were all in agreement the next season was pointless lol
https://imgur.com/a/967a01k
Yeah, I can imagine the outrage. He essentially tucked his tail between his legs and crawled to one of the 2 greatest teams in the league without telling Russ. I would be livid.
Literally tucked his tail. All kd going to the warriors showed me is that kd was scared to compete fr so he took the easiest route
without telling Russ.
This was also a low key sucker move, like damn you couldnt tell you’re best teammate that you were leaving, he had to find out like everyone else found out? I would’ve felt slighted too if I Russ, we spent 8 years together and you dont think enough of me to give me a phone call?
It was team that had a player kicked his former teammates in the nuts. He clearly didnt give AF about pride and honor when making his decision. The context makes it even worse.
It’s kinda like when you are playing a video game, can’t beat it much less master it, and apply some mod that makes it much easier, but probably shouldn’t count towards any sort of speed running awards
Can’t beat it, load someone else’s save file
Up 3-2 in the series and up 12 points with only 5:00 left in the game too.
Just weird to join the team that just beat you. Wouldn’t there be a fire to run it back and try to beat them instead?
Ngl I had the biggest flashback of this when the lead was dwindling for us as the 4th quarter approached in Game 5 of this year’s Finals. We were up like 12-15 most of the game and then suddenly it’s a 1 point game, just felt like we were primed for some Hali black magic.
Yeah, it was a crazy series. I just wished Hali’s achilles could’ve held out for 1 more game.
As a neutral fan, we would’ve had a great G7 and Hali would be healthy for next year.
As a thunder fan, obviously glad they won the chip but I can’t even lie I felt so off after he got hurt. Like no matter if it would’ve been a great G7 or not it just sucked to see that happen after going to 7 games in the first place
I hated to see Halliburton go down but don’t let it tarnish your championship. Injuries are part of the game unfortunately. OKC put themselves in a position to win. That’s all you can do.
Wait I’m confused. I know you got a lot of upvotes but I honestly don’t think the Warriors were down 12 (or Thunder up 12) with 5 mins to go in Game 6.
That game was close in the second half. Klay did some nice things to close the gap in the first gap but I don’t recall that ever being a 12 point game with 5 mins to go.
My memory isn’t the greatest but I feel like I would remember it way differently if it was 12 points with 5 to go in the fourth in Game 6.
You’re right. They were up 7 with 5 left. Not 12.
https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/pbp/201605280OKC.html
One of the weakest move of all sports history, really goes against the basic sense of competition of every competitor ever
Imagine if Micheal Jordan, after losing to the Detroit Pistons in the playoffs decided to join their team.
Rihanna said it best
“Winning your first championship by joining that team is like losing your virginity to a hooker.”
One of the coldest moved in NBA history by GS. You destroy one of your rivals, and make it so damn near none of your other rivals can touch you. With one move.
Then when San Antonio builds a team to stop you? Sweep the leg on their superstar. Evil empire shit
Closest comparison is Bayern beating Dortmund in the champions league final then getting Robert Lewandowski from Dortmund after it. Completely destroyed the broader perception of German soccer.
And that was a year after they already took away Gotze too.
And when Houston succeeds in building a team to stop you? Have the refs step in.
Most I’ve ever hated a non-rival team by far.
27 missed threes >>>
Or when the Rockets finally rebuilding back to playoff contention almost a decade later just to get stopped by the Warriors again by Steph and this duo.
THE weakest move in NBA history. Lebron to Miami is almost equal in terms of hate but it was 1⁄100 as weak as this move
LeBron going back and winning a chip with Cleveland I think negates how weak that move was. Those were some DOG SHIT teams they put around him as a kid.
KD in his advanced age will still defend his decision and it’s baffling to me. Not a tinge of self awareness.
LeBron also is in good terms with all the fanbases of the teams he’s been and left
Only reason Lebron went back is because again, there were two other all stars waiting for him there. Then just like when in Miami, he leaves when said superstars show signs of faltering.
Lebron didn’t join a 72-10 winning team that already had a ring THAT also just beat them in the conference finals when they were up 3-1… nothing about that shit is equal bro
Imagine if LeBron joined the Celtics in 2010. That’s basically what KD actually did.
Yeah I’ve always found it weird when people make a false equivalence between the two. Some people seem incapable of understanding that you can think that The Decision was weak and acknowledge that The Hardest Road was astronomically worse; they’re not mutually exclusive.
It kinda gets extra hate though because of Bron. Bron was seal clubbing in the east with joining Wade n Bosh, then joining Kyrie and Love. But the West was still a heated competition, particularly with OKC and the Warriors being the vanguard of the olden ways of superstars facing each other vs teaming up; So when when KD followed LeBron’s lead, it felt worse since it was the last domino falling.
Facts. It made Lebron bosh and Wade agreeing to team up during 08 seem not as bad… def should’ve ran it back
THE weakest move in NBA history
“Kevin was really really great early… I wasnt that great…” kinda refreshing to see russ showing a vulnerable introspection that was in stark contrast to what the media was saying about him thinking he was better… I think that really spured him on during the mindblowing mvp season… it was what made me a bigger okc fan
Yea this reflection was really mature. It paints him as a very self aware guy despite the ridiculous narratives to the contrary spun by the media and folks here.
Russ has always seemed like a cool dude. Idk why the media ran such a hate campaign against him
I think people just have a tendency to need to make someone’s personality fit with their level of success
Like Jordan was a cocky asshole but was also the best player ever so we treat that like it was strength of Will, dominance, uncompromising leadership etc
KAT is really good but not quite to the level of the top guys so we act like he’s unmotivated, even tho Jokic doesn’t seem to base his entire life around basketball (he just also happens to be incredibly good at it) and we don’t dog him for that at all
Westbrook was a flawed player and we dog him for trying to be the hero or being selfish even tho realistically he’s just a point guard with an insanely high motor so of course so,times he’s gunna do too much
Russ has never been the media’s bitch. Look at that dog fucker Barry Tramel, his entire career is a massive dick to everyone and Russ never put up with his shit and wouldn’t answer his questions.
That’s who wrote a lot of those hit pieces. Basically, one butt hurt old white dude.
Then you see his interactions with Rahshaun Haylock, another interviewer who has had many warm-hearted interviews with Russ. It made me realize he’s just a straight-up dude who doesn’t put up with BS but will give you your chance to speak.
Kd was supposed to come in and become the answer to LeBron James. If the Jordan fanboys that dominated the space at the time (somehow still do) could convince the world that KD was ultimately always better than LeBron that would be they entire reason to end an entirely different debate.
So what did Skip, SAS, Bill Simmons, etc. Start doing when KD kept coming up short?? Blame Russ. Kd leaned into it and it kind of just stuck.
You’ll see a meme of all the top dawgs Dirk had to go through to get his 2011 ring. You’ll see Lebron… you’ll see Kobe… but you don’t see KD… it’s Westbrook.
Russ had to take all the blame for those thunder years l, while KD got overly praised for his contributions to golden state.
How that guy sits online all day crying about how he’s been treated and gets away with it is beyond me.
I think it’s his stint on the Lakers. He was supposed to fix the team. But his contract made sure it stayed broke.
It’s funny because back then he was clearly very self aware it’s just that, that playstyle at point guard was just damn near sacrilegious to what being a point guard meant at the time — being the sidekick to a generational scorer like KD only heightened the seemingly unanimous disapproval of it.
I’ve never took the flaws in his game as some kinda character flaw, he always plays insanely hard and I think sometimes when you’re as much of an athletic specimen as he is it’s hard to know your limits. So maybe he’d gamble too much on defense or play recklessly but he was just trying to make plays he thinks he can make
Not every great player is a basketball supercomputer like LeBron or Jokic, doesn’t mean he was a bad teammate or something
I’m impressed by Russ’s self awareness here.
Definitely has altered my perspective of him.
He’s pretty intelligent if you get the chance to watch long interviews with him. Unfortunately he does have a temper (like most of us) and he will lash out which will overwrite people’s opinion on him. His playing style also doesn’t match his personality for the most part as well. One of the most misunderstood players in the game.
I’ve been a fan of Russ for a long time. It became clear to me a while ago that he’s not the person the media has painted him to be. At all
Him saying “we were never equals” surprised me the most.
My take on what he meant by that after actually listening was that Kevin was great early but that it took him some time to get to where Kevin was early on in their career and by the time he got there to that level of being equal to him Kevin had already left
100% what he meant. Tbh I can’t see any other way to interpret it like he’s obviously not going to be talking ‘post-trade’ while reflecting on their time playing together so what else could he mean.
Yea Russ took that big step right when kd was out most of 2015, he even led the league in scoring. Then in 2016, Russ actually ranked higher in mvp voting and all nba than kd. They were only 1A and 1B for about a year together
Goku and Vegeta ahh
They’ve been my favorite team since they relocated. But that 2017 season turned me from a fan to a diehard. Russ will always be my favorite player because of that year and how he put the whole team on his back and willed them into the playoffs. Without him, we were a lottery team that year and because of it the Thunder will always be my favorite team.
Same the rally around the Russ after KD left was awesome to be a fan of, NBA has missed that level of drama for me personally since he left. I no longer have a team I empathize with like I did with OKC Thunder of that era.
Out of the three, Harden, KD, and Russ, Russ will end up being the most well liked.
I feel like he already is and has been for a while now since his OKC stint. Maybe its just me but Harden seems to just fade into the abyss when he’s off the court, KD says some really self-absorbed/unaware shit sometimes about his career (“the hardest road”) which I don’t think will get any better with age as that normally tends to get worse for a lot of players.
Russ is honest and humble. He speaks his mind, has a presence off the court and seems to be a good role model and appreciates the love he gets from any and all fans of his. Seems like an all-around good dude. He just doesn’t take shit from people, whether it be the media or rowdy ass fans when they overstep their bounds.
Literally only people who were thinking that were redditors who hate on anyone for any reason at any time or media members that hated him cuz he was standoffish to them
Every teammate he’s had said he’s amazing
Yeah, was I fan of the Russ trade to the Lakers? Absolutely not, I thought it was extremely devastating to what was a title contender (letting Caruso walk was the other thing here), that 2021 team was riddled with injuries, and it’s not surprising considering the extremely short turnaround after the bubble
…but at this point I’m tired of Russ being shat on constantly as if him at his peak wasn’t one of the greatest players of his generation.
We loved Russ then, we love him now, KD was always the better player but Russ was the realest
The humility from someone who plays with a, “I will destroy that rim” mindset is not what I expected.
The thoughtfulness and self-examination is not something you ever hear from the mouth of MVPs, especially when they’re still playing.
I mean it happens all the time with modern players. Guys like Jokic, SGA, and Luka are all humble as fuck. It’s just the big personalities tend to get the attention when it relates to their personalities.
Russ side eyeing KD in that press conference when he didn’t commit to coming back was hilarious.
That move was the opportunity for Russ to go on one of the greatest 4 year individual runs ever
You gotta love Russ
Yes! I think KD will be remembered as the better player, but he won’t have near the legacy Westbrook will. Westbrooks legacy will be will be looked at from a much brighter light.
Doubtful
Yeah KD is like a top 20 all time dude, Westbrook’s legacy is good because of the whole averaging a triple double thing, but he hasn’t been a very “winning” player without KD. I think KD’s legacy will be brighter despite the bitch ass move.
The reassuring thing is KD’s championships will always be painted as bitchmade. I am glad the Thunder got a chip because that was one of the most fucked up situations I’ve seen in professional sports.
Westbrook’s legacy is amazing considering he stepped up big time when the franchise best player turned out to be a snake. OKC loves Russ, THAT is a legacy
Russ will be loved by a fanbase more than almost any player in history.
Kevin won’t even have his jersey retired. Top whatever doesn’t matter, legacy is about how you’re remembered not how good you were.
I mean…KD hasn’t won shit since leaving curry and the warriors.
All of OKCs original trio would have had the same fate had Durant not been a spineless twat. All of them great in their own ways, but at least two of them tried winning the right way; competing…
Lol no way
He won one playoff series in that 4 years, and that was after he joined Harden at Houston
Had OKC actually pulled it off in 2016, that would have been one of the greatest championship runs of all time. Going through a gauntlet consisting of the 67 wins Spurs, 73 wins Warriors and LeBron led superteam is a legendary feat.
Instead KD went to the same team that he blew a 3-1 lead to.
I still find it hilarious when people call that Cavs team a “superteam” while not using the same term for the Warriors/Spurs/Thunder.
Yup, only thing super about that team was LeBron. It was very well built don’t get me wrong but a super team is the 2017 Warriors lol
The Cavs were still a superteam, the KD warriors were just the magnum opus of super teams
Nah, when I think of superteam, I think multiple (3+) already established star players. The Cavs didn’t have that, Kyrie was only just becoming a star when they won the championship. They had a good roster, don’t get me wrong, but not a superteam
Revisionist history for what, you guys act like saying LeBron had a super team in Cleveland hurts his legacy or something. Kyrie and KLove were stars and LeBron was obviously the best player in the league.
i think the difference was that until then the warriors, spurs, and thunder for the most part drafted and developed their core talent and the core stuck together… then kd pulled the weakest move in nba/sports history and players started taking their careers in their own hands and we got the player first era
Superteam? 2016 Lebron was the only All-Star on his team. Love became washed after he got traded to Cleveland, and Kyrie was still too young.
Feel like you’re downplaying it a bit
By becoming washed, you mean Kevin Love went from being the first option in Minny to 3rd option in Cleveland behind LBJ and Kyrie so his stats obviously went down, and thus became washed? Tell me you only check stats without telling me you only check stats
K Love was avg a double double and Kyrie has already been cooking at this time.
K-Love did not get washed, what are you yapping about? He was forced to play as the 3rd guy, taking a hit on his production, exactly like Bosh was forced to do in Miami. They were absolutely a superteam by definition.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superteams_in_the_NBA
The Thunder drafted all of their superstars at the time. Isn’t it required to collect your players through Free Agency to be considered a “Super Team” in this context?
Here’s the thing. A superteam is formed of players from different teams, those 3 you have there all have homegrown talent, it’s not the same
Because none of those others are superteams.
A superteam in the National Basketball Association (NBA) is an arbitrary term to describe a team that uses player acquisitions (via trades or free agency) in a short period of time to create a higher than average concentration of top-level players. While there is no official definition, it is generally viewed as a team with three or more Hall of Fame, All-NBA, or perennial All-Star players that join together to pursue an NBA championship.[1][2][3]
Home grown talent built through the draft, even if those draft picks turn into 5 superstars on the same team, would still not make them a superteam. Superteams are formed through trade and the free agency. It’s not the skill level of the team, it’s how the team is assembled.
Man the Thunder reloading with Al Horford as strongly rumored or just a positive impact big man. SMH it would have been an absolutely epic close to the 2010s.
Only reason Horford didn’t sign was because KD was so uncertain. But if this hadn’t all happened, it wouldn’t be Shai and Dub and Chet and Lu, and there wouldn’t be a championship now.
True, but we would have had a potential ring back then, and most importantly we would still have our most valuable asset: Sam Presti. He would have definitely either got that team to win with other moves, or would have moved off of those guys and still got a ton of assets.
I love our current squad, but I’m just saying as long as we have Presti, the Thunder won’t be in a bad spot
Who knows how everything plays out if KD stays, but they also theoretically could have made that same trade for Paul George. A Westbrook Roberson PG KD Horford/Adams team would have been wild
That hypothetical squad’s defence would have been nasty.
This shit would be a lot more excruciating if we didn’t win it all last year.
Still an absolutely yellow-bellied move from KD.
Glad to see I’m not the only one using that term.
People will think more highly of SGA than KD. Never did I imagine that would be a fact.
tbf OKC fans probably thought more highly of SGA before he even came to the Thunder. Says more about Kd than anything though
OKC will never forgive and KD will never admit he did anything wrong
It is what it is
The championship basically made me not care all that much about this situation any more, but I still hope KD steps on legos at night sometimes
The championship makes me feel a lot less annoyed about KD for sure. Not entirely unbothered, but a lot less.
Feel like it gave us a lot of closure. We’re still kinda pissed about it, but we finally got to watch our (mostly) homegrown team win it all and not blow the second opportunity.
[deleted]
Two free rings. Almost 3
That’s why Russ will always be goated here
Russ should have the first and biggest statue outside the arena. I love Shai, but nobody meant more to the org and the state than Russ. Russ is everything it means to be apart of that organization and to be a leader. His MVP season was the most cathartic and energizing season I’ve ever experienced as an NBA fan
That ovation he got during game 1 of that playoff series was so damn cool. That is the thing you (typically) lose when you leave to chase rings, as tantalizing as chasing rings must be
Dude will never have to pay for food or beverage in OKC ever again in his life.
Where is this from?
Passion Play: Russell Westbrook (2021)
Any reason it came out now this quote when it was released in 2021?
Homie got slow internet
need this answer as well
Russ is my favorite player ever and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Ferocious. Unstoppable. Passionate. Full throttle without fail.
Boneheaded and selfish decision making at times? Sure. But that’s true of me too. I love Russ and I’ll be sad if his ride is over for real.
I started watching the nba around 2015. Russ was the man. Human stick of dynamite. I’m a Cavs fan through and through and OKC was my home away from home team whenever the Cavs weren’t playing. Before and after KD. I’ll always root for Russ
Fucking love Russ man. BRODIE FOREVER.
KD with the weakest move of sports history.
Warriors won before him
Warriors won with him
Warriors won after him
KD has won nothing after the Warriors
OKC was loaded for a long run. Warriors didn’t need KD; rather they needed OKC to NOT have KD.
It tarnished his legacy 100%, no one will ever talk about him without that footnote diminishing his rings. They won once he left too.
Kevin Durant, known bus rider, vs Russell Westbrook, known brick layer
At least bricks have use
Ruining laker fans love for basketball
I had TWO Warriors fans tell me earlier today how the 2020 Lakers ring doesn’t count but their 2017 & 2018 rings do count😭😭Absolute bitch move on what KD did
You know the Reddit rules. Downplay another team’s championship when they try to downplay your team’s championship.
Them’s the rules.
Russ was right to feel this way.
OKC fans also rightfully hate KD.
Crazy to leave your team to join the team that you just blew a 3-1 lead to in the WCF’s, to ring chase.
Russ a dawg. Fuck KD
KD is the weakest player of all time. And he uses his burner to cover his insecurities about it.
Now I do what I want starts playing
ultimately where I land on this is that KD had good reasons to be frustrated in OKC and given his career goals at the time, signing with GSW was the right move. personally I honestly don’t fault him for making the decision that he thought was best for himself, as we’ve seen time and time again teams always do what’s best for themselves so why shouldn’t the players?
but the optics were terrible from a competitive standpoint given how the prior season ended. fans have always wanted to see players as talented as him win as “the guy,” not team up with a rival just as talented as he was, and that’s something he’s gotta live with as being part of his legacy
Fans invalidated the warriors record breaking season when they lost the championship that same year.
The message was clear, no matter how many games you win or series you clutch out, only rings matter.
Even if all the warriors players didn’t want KD, what franchise doesn’t add him if available.
same here. it’s hard to win when you have a number 2 guy who acts like he’s the number 1. regardless of what Russ says now, that’s really how it was back then. he never wanted to defer to KD even though it was obvious that KD was the better player. We saw this play out in the first year of the Heatles. Wade had to take a step back and let LeBron be that guy.
As far as KD going to the Warriors, I don’t see why tf he should have made his path to a championship any harder when the Warriors were right there with everything perfectly set up. it’s hard to win a championship and it’s a short career. I could never fault him or anyone else for doing that. this is real life for them. the rest of us are just fans who will do what fans do.
“Sting for who?”
Such an epic response
“it’s not the destinatoin, it’s th ejourney” steve jobs — this is why mike cried like crazy the frist time he won it, and he cried when he came back and his dad had died. mike had lost 3x straight to the pistons. that 3rd time in 89 was demoralizing because it went to game 7. in th elast dance, jordan was talking about how he was crying on the bus with his father in the game 7 loss. game 7 loss due to a pippen migraine which is another weak move. that migraine was probably due to lack of sleep and nerves. how about downing some gatorade and advil and getting to work pipp!
kd when he won the championship said “this is it?” well yea - it was the easy way out. join the people who beat you. but in short, kd did it because bron set the precdenent. I honestly think if bron never joined the heat, kd would’ve stayed. Also if you’re upset with Westbrook taking all the shots, how about taking him out to dinnner as a leader and discussing how to beat the warriors! that’s what isaiah and joe dumars did to figure out how to beat mike.
the hero’s journey - we can identify with that right? kd joining the warriors was one of the weakest sports momnets in all of sport’s history.
Lebrons move wasn’t as bad, and the league was actually fun with the Heatles. With KD Warriors, it was predictable and they won before and after him.
KD still a hoe for that move
This move really affected KD’s legacy and I don’t think he can recover from that. Weakest move. Took the easiest path and the worst of all is they almost beat them in Game 7. 99 out of 100 players can’t wait to get a revenge and get KD is only 1 who went straight and joined them.
he’s just like me fr
What is this clip from? Would love to watch it in full