Kevin Durant's return to Oklahoma City is the biggest event on the NBA calendar this weekend, and for good reason. His exit last summer sent shockwaves across the NBA, and the Thunder are going to be dealing with the fallout of his choice for a long time.
The national conversation today has mostly been about the age old question, "Will his former fans boo him?" and most signs point to yes. Russell Westbrook has become something of a hero in Oklahoma City after committing to stay with the franchise moving forward, and his icy treatment of Durant since his departure has been duplicated by Thunder fans.
Golden State's social media team wants to make sure Durant knows someone has his back. In their graphic for their game preview story leading into tonight's game, the Warriors' official Twitter account included a graphic featuring Durant facing off against, you guessed it...Andre Roberson?
It was identified almost immediately as a subtle jab at Westbrook, and took off like crazy on social media.
When the obvious connection was made, Warriors employees threw up a pretty weak defense to the allegations, and made the claim it had nothing to do with slighting Westbrook:
One problem with this suggestion: We have the receipts for the rest of the preview pieces done by the Warriors, and it turns out they aren't so strict about adhering to positional matchups.
To be fair to the Warriors, they have used pre-game graphics with less-heralded players on their social media pages, but most of those involved the player on their own team matched up against the best player on their opponent:
Based on this cursory investigation, it looks pretty clear the Warriors were and are trying to slight Westbrook. Instead of putting him in his rightful place alongside Durant, they featured a role player, and one who is not involved in the primary storyline(s) surrounding the game.
Kudos to the Warriors for finding subtle ways to get shots in, but one suggestion: At least own up to it when you're firing shots.
