The beef between Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, two former Oklahoma City Thunder teammates, have been well documented. But there doesn’t seem to be much bad blood left between the two since Durant just publicly came to Westbrook’s defense over the criticism he has been facing in recent seasons.
Following an unsuccessful stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, Westbrook endured heavy criticism, with some even going as far as saying he doesn’t belong in the league anymore. However, after leaving the Lakers, Westbrook found his groove with the LA Clippers and is once again playing at a high level.
Speaking with reporters on Saturday, after his Phoenix Suns got a 112-100 win over Westbrook’s Clippers in Game 4 of the first-round series, Durant took issue with past criticism of Westbrook and praised him for being “resilient.”
“People going to always criticize when you’re successful and doing your thing for this long,” Durant said. “Russ has been resilient his whole life. He comes to work, and doesn’t say much. Just come hoop.”
Durant explained that people would only realize how good Westbrook was once he retires.
“When he retires, people are going to really tell the truth about his game,” he added. “Right now, the fun thing to do is to make a joke out of Russ. But the way he’s been playing since he got with the Clippers is showing everybody who he really is.”
Durant has been able to witness up close that Westbrook can still ball out. Despite playing without his co-stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, who are out due to injuries, Westbrook has kept the Clippers competitive against a star-studded Phoenix Suns team. He has been averaging 26.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game while being a menace on the defense.
However, despite Wesbtrook’s best efforts, the Clippers find themselves on the brink of elimination. The Suns have a 3-1 lead in the series and will look to finish the job in Game 5 in Phoenix on Tuesday.
