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Russell Westbrook leaves booing Kevin Durant up to Thunder fans

Ben Rohrbach
Senior NBA writer

Even in the immediate aftermath of Kevin Durant’s decision to join the Golden State Warriors, Oklahomans were torn between respecting what the 2014 NBA MVP did for the state and feeling disrespected that he left it behind to join the team that ousted their Thunder in the playoffs.

In August, Oklahoman columnist Berry Tramel wrote, “We’ve got six months to decide that we should cheer Kevin Durant,” and now that we’re on the eve of Durant’s return to Oklahoma City as a member of the Warriors, the Thunder faithful remain conflicted about all he accomplished for their team — the four Western Conference finals appearances in six seasons — and the sadness of seeing him go, especially in Durant, Okla., where some “don’t really like him anymore” due to the constant reminder.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook head in different directions. (Getty Images)
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook head in different directions. (Getty Images)

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So, the question persists: Will Thunder fans boo the man who made seven All-Star appearances in their uniform? Durant’s former running mate Russell Westbrook, now OKC’s lone star — and a damn decent one at that — weighed in with his thoughts after Thursday’s win over the Cleveland Cavaliers:

What kind of atmosphere do you expect Saturday night here with the Warriors?

Westbrook: “Same one we have every night.”

Do you care how they respond to Kevin — cheer, boo, whatever?

Westbrook: “It’s kind of up to them. It’s up to them what they want to do. Obviously, Kevin’s done a lot for Oklahoma City and our team when he was here, so it’s kinda up to them. It doesn’t really matter to me one way or another. It’s a basketball game, and we’ve gotta go out and compete.”

Are you going to tell him anything when you meet him?

Westbrook: “I don’t talk to nobody during the game.”

Believe it or not, “Kevin’s done a lot for Oklahoma City and our team when he was here” is the nicest thing Westbrook has said publicly about his former teammate since he left. There was the cupcake Instagram post, the laughing off of questions about Durant, the “some run” Nike ad, the photographer bib and the “that’s cute” reaction to Durant’s praise of his new “selfless” teammates in Golden State.

But mostly there’s been silence. While Durant insisted publicly they had no “beef,” Westbrook was reportedly hurt his longtime teammate texted rather than picking up the phone to tell him he was leaving, and the lone Thunder star left made it clear more recently the two still hadn’t spoken.

From the outside looking in, it sure seems like Westbrook is feuding with Durant, even if the latter refuses to acknowledge it as anything more than “fake drama” created by the media. And if the fans were to follow Westbrook’s lead, they might laugh maniacally or stay silent during Durant’s pregame introduction. They could boo. They could pull the old college trick, reading newspapers as if they don’t even care. As colleague Eric Freeman suggested in our weekly newsletter, they could somehow convey “we don’t need you.” Or they could do some combination of it all, as Celtics fans did when Ray Allen returned to Boston after leaving for the Miami Heat. Like Westbrook, Kevin Garnett held a grudge, too.

Whatever the reaction, Westbrook’s right. This is up to the fans, because it is about their relationship to Kevin Durant, and if they feel like booing or cheering him or whatever, who is anyone to say they shouldn’t? Their relationship doesn’t have to be the same as Westbrook’s. Oklahoma City didn’t have a basketball team before Durant, and his impact on the city went well beyond the sport — and still does, as evidenced by his foundation’s recent $57,000 donation to an area school for homeless children.

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For the record, Durant seems to think some boos could be coming, and he won’t hate the fans for it:

“I’m not going in there acting like I’m going to be praised, I know how it’s going to be,” Durant told ESPN’s Marc Stein, adding, “I know they’re going to be rowdy in there, man. I’ve been a part of some of the loudest nights in that arena. So I know it’s not going to be the friendliest welcome, but, like I said, I can’t wait to see the people that I really built relationships with over my time there and, you know, I’m sure fans that I got to know throughout my time playing there, even though they might not cheer for me out loud, I’ll give ’em a wink and they know what we had deep down inside.”

Count Warriors star Stephen Curry among those who’d rather see some cheers thrown Durant’s way:

“I don’t know how the fans will react, but people should appreciate what he did there,” the two-time MVP told reporters this week, according to The Mercury News. “Because that’s special that anybody in this league can be a face of the franchise for so long. He represented inspiration and hope for so many people for so many years. You hope people appreciate that regardless of what decision he made this summer.”

I’m not sure Curry’s statement is any consolation to Thunder fans who might think, if Durant indeed “represented inspiration and hope,” that he also took those out the door along with him. Whatever the response, there will be a packed house for it, because tickets are harder to come by than they’ve been for any star’s return in recent memory — even more than LeBron going back to Miami in 2014.

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Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!