Hasheem Thabeet Blames 'Outsiders' for Divide Between Durant and Westbrook

Hasheem Thabeet says Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant will be friends again one day. Durant has regrets about how he handled his departure, but Westbrook does

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Complex Original

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Hasheem Thabeet was there when Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were boys. You might remember that Thabeet lurked in the background in Oklahoma City for two years. The former UConn star never made a real impact on the court for the Thunder, but he did develop a close relationship with OKC's young stars.

Thus, he has a fascinating perspective on all the recent Durant/Westbrook drama, which sprung after Durant left Oklahoma City for perceived greener pastures in Golden State. The Undefeated shared Thabeet's perspective in an interesting piece today.

Durant and Westbrook have kind of downplayed their relationship since Durant's departure, claiming they were never that tight anyway. Thabeet says otherwise. He also says he believes Durant and Westbrook will be close again one day.

If that's the case, why haven't they already made up?

“It’s because of the outsiders,” Thabeet said. “Mostly, it’s the outsiders. It’s almost like everything Russell does is a shot at Kevin. It’s not even like that. Those guys actually have their lives. I talk to Russell. Russell’s my guy. He’s married. He’s happy. He’s living his life."

Thabeet has a point. Then again, it has sure seemed like everything Westbrook has done recently—the Jordan commercial, the Official Photographer vest—really was a shot at Durant. Westbrook has had no interest in talking about Durant publicly.

“At the end of the day, these outsiders will fade," Thabeet said. "Somebody is going to win this year, and they are going to forget about this moment. It’s part of sports, I guess.”

Durant hooked Thabeet up with a ticket to Thursday's game. The Warriors blew out the Thunder, 122-96, led by a Durant explosion of a game-high 39 points. Durant and Thabeet still talk regularly.

Thabeet remembers when Westbrook was a part of their tight-knit trio.

“As teammates, we were close. We were brotherly,” Thabeet said. “We hung out. It’s wasn’t never like we’re going to hang out without Russell. We didn’t even have to be in OKC to hang out. It would be like if we were back in OKC we’d be at Russell’s house or at KD’s house. Team bonding was important to us. So for him to leave was heartbreaking because they were always very close.”

The piece is a little bit hard to read, because it brings to light how the media cycle and obsessive fandom can create wedges in genuine friendships between players. Thabeet has provided encouragement to Durant as the star faced heavy backlash for signing with the Warriors.

“People like Hasheem and my former teammates are like, ‘Keep being me,’" Durant told The Undefeated. "I know where I’m coming from. I know how hard it is. Hearing it from former teammates is always good."

Durant has regrets about how he handled his departure, but Westbrook doesn't seem interested in making amends. Let's hope they do someday.

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