Thank you, Russell Westbrook; a trip down memory lane
By Rylan Stiles
This is where the Russell Westbrook era officially begins.
That might sound strange. He has been on the Thunder for the length of their existence? That’s true, but it was always Kevin Durant’s team. He was always Robin to KD’s batman, and Russ was always the one to blame when things went south. That is something Thunder fans do not like to admit. They were not always the best to Russ while they coddled Durant, it came at the expense of Russell Westbrook. While fans enjoyed watching Russ, he by far caught the most heat.
Now, Oklahoma City had no choice but to rally around the dynamic point guard. But for how long? Russell Westbrook was only locked into the franchise for one more year? How will this all play out? The Thunder roster, without Durant, did not land Horford and looked extremely weak. Victor Olidipo was still young and trying to find his way in the NBA. Sabonis would show flashes but would look legitimately scared of the NBA stage when he shared the floor with Russell Westbrook.
Russell Westbrook continued his petty side, really, this is when it fully took off with everyone besides Patrick Beverly.
Hours after the announcement by Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook took to Instagram to post a picture of cupcakes with a simple caption “Happy fourth!” While the cupcakes were red, white, and blue, it was not exactly the most patriotic post especially considering the timing.
Many believed Russell Westbrook was called Durant a cupcake, soft, and everything else associated with it.
That would not be the first or last Instagram shot at what appears to be Durant.
Russell Westbrook interestingly posting a video of him singing “Now I do what I want.” really put a light on how contrite he was with Kevin Durant, and really made the Thunder fans fall in love with him. After all, he is now all we have.
This video of him singing in the car, with every lyric of the songs he decided to post is easily tied back to Kevin Durant, would take off. It became the anthem for the Thunder fanbase to support Russ, and even spawned it’s own Jordan Brand commercial.
This was just the start, on the best season of Thunder basketball.