Oklahoma City didn’t take it very well when Kevin Durant bolted last July for California, joining the record-setting Golden State Warriors. Though Durant spent 10 excellent years with the Sonics/Thunder organization, the folks in Oklahoma City were quiiite salty when he left.
His jerseys started selling for 48 cents. Then, when he returned to OKC in a Warriors’ uniform, Thunder fans wore savage shirts that said “Cupcake” and “Koward.”
Just because Durant has now won a title with Golden State, that doesn’t mean the trolling has stopped. If anything, the trolling has been amplified.
Earlier this week, the city of Oklahoma City took to social media to remind folks to recycle magazines “in your little blue bin”—and, naturally, they used Kevin Durant’s Sports Illustrated cover in the post.
This isn’t a one-sided-trolling situation, though. The Bay Area seems to be sending it right back. Thursday’s San Francisco Examiner led with the headline “Mr. Reliable” and the subhead “Kevin Durant’s selfless nature allowed him to seamlessly merge with the Warriors—and the rest is history.”
That may seem innocuous enough, but there’s a bit of history with Durant and the word “selfless.” He described Golden State’s roster with that term shortly after signing there last offseason, and Russell Westbrook didn’t like it—he took it as a shot at OKC’s players, an implication that the Thunder were selfish.
Per his recent appearance on Bill Simmons’ podcast (which, by the way, is a great episode), Durant is more than over this “beef” with Westbrook. He just wants to talk about something else. But as long as his former and current cities stoke the flame of the rivalry, people will keep talking about Durant’s past in Oklahoma City.
