Russell Westbrook was certainly not stung by Kevin Durant leaving the Thunder

When he agreed to sign an extension with the Thunder, Russell Westbrook instantly became a hero in Oklahoma City. The fans showed that in full force on Thursday by showing out in a massive crowd just to greet him for his press conference. Westbrook added to his cult status with well-crafted words to go along with his actions.

It might only be a matter of hours before someone is selling “Sting for who?” T-shirts in Oklahoma City. And that was hardly the only thing he said about Kevin Durant. Westbrook didn’t say anything obviously disparaging, instead answering Durant-related questions with a sense of ease that makes it seem like he really wasn’t bothered by it.

In a lot of these situations a player or coach or management might say something like, “It’s obviously a disappointment, but we have to move on and focus on the guys we have here.” Not Westbrook. He wasn’t hung up about losing Durant and was instead focused on what comes next.

What comes next might be the MVP year of Russell Westbrook.

Kevin Durant, meanwhile, seemed happy for Westbrook:

“I got nothing but positive energy and vibes for everybody,” Durant told The Undefeated’s Michael Lee. “I don’t have no beef with anybody or wish no ill will on anybody. So if he did what he wanted to do, that’s better. That’s great for him.”

Don’t think for a second that Durant’s decision hasn’t changed their relationship, though. As Westbrook mentioned, they haven’t spoken since the former league MVP decided to join the Warriors and Durant doesn’t know when they’ll finally be able to talk things through.

“That’s a touchy deal. I don’t know,” Durant told Lee. “It’s easy for someone else to tell me what I should do, but you guys don’t know how that whole thing [went down]. I don’t know, man. I’ll see after this is over and once everything dies down. Like I said before, at some point we’ll sit down and talk. But I don’t know when.”

Westbrook and Durant appeared to be unconditional in their support for each other not long ago. Now Westbrook is dismissing how significant Durant’s departure was for him and Durant seems almost scared to reach out to his former friend.

This could be the beginning of a rivalry. The first time they go against each other as opponents will definitely be fun to watch.