Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook: From ‘Brothers’ to Breakup

Elle Duncan breaks down the evolution of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook’s relationship over the years. The former Oklahoma City Thunder All-Stars navigated highs and lows throughout their early NBA careers as teammates– including a trip to the 2012 NBA Finals (1:26), the James Harden trade (1:56), Durant’s 2014 MVP Season (2:49), and the 2016 Western Conference Finals (3:22), where OKC lost to the Warriors despite taking a commanding 3-1 series lead.

After falling to the Warriors, Kevin Durant opted to enter free agency (3:54) and join the Warriors. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith (4:25) viewed the move in free agency to the team that had just defeated Durant as ‘the weakest move he’s ever seen from a superstar’.

Elle Duncan breaks down the former teammates’ efforts to move on after KD’s free agency decision, including Durant’s eventual return to OKC as a Warrior (7:09), and quite a few subtle (6:30, 6:57, 7:41) and not-so-subtle (5:55, 7:18, 9:15) jabs at each other. Elle (9:39) eloquently concludes with closing thoughts on The Split of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.