Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant’s friendship is the pretty much the elephant in the room throughout All-Star Weekend. Someone’s bound to bring up their friendship (or what’s left of it), either directly or in a roundabout way -- Westbrook seems to have found a way to avoid discussing it altogether (y’all caught up on Fashion Week?), while Durant gets clowned on by Hannibal Buress.
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are still avoiding each other during NBA All-Star Weekend
It’s the one storyline that’s eclipsing All-Star Weekend, and it’s the kind of thing that turns an innocuous backstage moment into something that keeps people on their toes. Case in point: Here’s Kevin Durant crossing paths with Russell Westbrook, and neither man acknowledges one another.
Aside from this, there’s a lot of speculation on who Steve Kerr will play at the All-Star Game, considering there are four Warriors players, one Russell Westbrook, and one James Harden. The fantasy here is that the West side would eventually have the “4 Warriors, one Westbrook” combo on the court, giving fans an opportunity to see what would happen if Durant and Westbrook played on the same team again. There’s also the Thunder reunion with Durant, Westbrook, and Harden playing together.
Kerr wouldn’t give up his plans, but he did acknowledge the possibility of an OKC reunion, which you can hear at 2:47 in the clip below:
Kerr: “I think the fact that KD and James and Russell -- you know, they’re all here -- it’d be fun to play them all together ... put them back together from their OKC days.”
Reggie Miller: “Or you might get a call from [Thunder GM] Sam Presti, and he’ll be like, ‘Why are you doing this to me?’”
Kerr, laughing: “Yeah, that’s true. I can’t win. No matter what I do, I’m gonna face some criticism.”
Will Steve Kerr actually reunite KD, Russ, and Harden on the court? We’ll see on Sunday. As for Westbrook and Durant, judging from the interviews and that backstage video, perhaps they’re just looking forward to getting this weekend over with.
Meanwhile, Durant’s mom Wanda shared a lovely reunion photo of her and Westbrook’s mom Shannon with the hashtag #SistersForLife. Maybe there’s hope after all.
