What “Kevin Durant vs. Russell Westbrook” Says About Us

I’ve been covering the Oklahoma City Thunder for exactly three months now although I’ve followed the team peripherally for years. In that time span, I’ve never seen evidence of it, either publicly or privately. Along the sidelines or on the hardwood floor. During press conferences or in the locker room.

Yet everywhere I turn, I see people trying to convince me that there’s some kind of long-standing feud brewing between Thunder superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

I don’t get it. This is a team that has had great success in recent years and these are the two players that have been primarily responsible for that success. I’m supposed to buy into the narrative that they don’t like each other when all I see is evidence to the contrary.

When Kevin Durant received the greatest individual award that professional basketball has to offer – last year’s MVP trophy – he praised Westbrook as the consummate teammate.  Here’s the exact wording, from a transcript provided by The Oklahoman:

"I know you guys think I forgot Russ. But I could speak all night about Russell. An emotional guy who will run through a wall for me. I don’t take it for granted. There’s days when I just want to tackle you and tell you to snap out of it sometimes, but I know there’s days when you want to do the same thing with me. I love you, man. I love you. A lot of people put unfair criticism on you as a player and I’m the first to have your back, man, though it all. Just stay the person you are. Everybody loves you here. I love you. I thank you so much, man. You make me better. You know, your work ethic, I always want to compete with you. I always want to pull up in the parking lot of the arena, or the practice facility, and if you beat me there I was always upset. I always wanted to outwork you. You set the bar. You set the tone. Thank you so much, man. Thank you. You have a big piece of this. You’re an MVP-caliber player. It’s a blessing to play with you, man."

That reeks of animosity, doesn’t it?

But instead of appreciating the level of, well, appreciation the two players might have for another, the court of public opinion turned it into this meme:

During Wednesday’s historic performance by Westbrook, the Chesapeake Energy Arena crowd cheered loudly for their star guard, chants of “M-V-P” roaring through the stands. Once again, Durant was a source of encouragement, as per ESPN.com’s Royce Young (via Twitter):

Did this make headlines? Was this a focal point of a great story in Thursday? Go back a week, when Russ began his incredible run of triple-double performances and, exhausted and engaged in the moment because, you know, he was playing a game of professional basketball, what did people choose to focus on?

Huh. I’m starting to see how this works.

And lest you start to think that the support is mostly one-sided (keeping in mind that Westbrook is notoriously short with reporters and media types), here’s what he had to say about Durant in a recent interview:

"“Do I think [media members] invented or inflated those issues? I’m not sure. But I know myself and Kevin always, always became closer and closer, regardless of what stories or what was made up about us. We’ve constantly become closer and closer, like brothers, and got through everything that was thrown our way, whether it was true or not true or things that were made up.”"

Grantland.com, the brainchild of Bill Simmons, recently ran several posts examining the Westbrook/Durant dynamic. One of these was an interview with Kobe Bryant where the Lakers guard questioned why people feel the need to have the team – one comprised of 15 different individuals, mind you – “belong” to any one person. As part of Grantland’s “second banana” theme, writers debated whether Durant or Westbrook are the secondary stars on the team.

It’s a sad statement on humanity that they can’t accept what might actually be a supportive friendship between two colleagues, both of whom are focused on the same goal. We’ve become so used to seeing drama and friction between teammates that even when see all signs to the contrary – as we have in Oklahoma City – we blind ourselves to the truth.

This team is determined to win a championship. It’s their singular purpose, shared by everyone on the team. It’s why Reggie Jackson was jettisoned to Detroit, when he put “me” above “we”.

People are so hell-bent on manufacturing a sense of disharmony that they can’t appreciate how much this team has gelled in recent weeks and all they’ve accomplished this season. As recently as December, the Thunder were dead in the water – now they’re competing for a playoff spot and will be as feared as any other legitimate title contender.

Let’s look at how a supposed malcontent like Dion Waiters has thrived in Oklahoma City. How injuries haven’t derailed this team’s championship hopes. Look at how Enes Kanter and D.J. Augustin are contributing just weeks after they were stuck on lottery-bound teams.

Bear witness to Westbrook’s incredible individual performances as he leads the team to victory while Durant leads the cheers from the sidelines.

But when it comes to a feud between the two “brothers”? There’s nothing to see here.

Next: How Will Kevin Durant's Return Affect the Thunder?