Don't make a big deal out of Kevin Durant snubbing Russell Westbrook
Please, NBA Twitter, I’m begging you: please don’t make a big deal out of the latest video in which Kevin Durant forgets that Russell Westbrook was one of his five favorite teammates of all time.
In case you’re wondering what that’s about: the Brooklyn Nets star was on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast and was asked to list his top five players he’s ever played with.
He started off with Kyrie Irving and James Harden, a very smart move given that he currently plays with them both and is seeking an NBA title with them at the moment. He went with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson next. Then? It was … Serge Ibaka, who — may I remind you — was and is a terrific teammate and was a premiere shot-blocker in his days with the Durant-led Thunder.
But everyone — including the hosts — noted he forgot Russell Westbrook, and anytime something like this happens, everyone thinks Durant and Westbrook hate each other after KD left the Thunder for the Warriors.
(WARNING: there’s some NSFW language in the video below.)
Shots fired? KD leaves Russell Westbrook out of his top 5 players he ever played with! pic.twitter.com/quwHLo4QUO
— A-M-P ➐ (@AMP_16Digital) April 18, 2021
But look at what transpired there! Durant basically said, oops, and put Westbrook on his list.
That’s it. He really did forget. There’s no malice that I can see there, no deliberate snub. I see a lot of tweets like this saying it was another shot across the bow:
For KD to sit there and say Klay and Serge are better than Russ with a straight face tells me all I need to know about him. Dude doesn’t have a genuine bone in his body. Russ went to Wars beside that dude and KD has spent 5 years taking shots
— Jonathan Mitchell (@Jon_Mitchell3) April 19, 2021
But no. He genuinely forgot! And that’s perfectly fine because the last time he suited up with Westbrook was 2016, and being put on the spot to think about the past 13 years of his career and immediately name five names is quite a bit of pressure.
Let’s give this a rest, OK?