Russell Westbrook returned this past dawn to Oklahoma City . The All-Star base, MVP of the 2016-2017 season , was transferred in the summer to the Houston Rockets ending more than a decade as a Thunder player, with whom he came to play the NBA Finals in 2012.
His stage as an Oklahoma City player was marked, first, by the great potential of the team, with James Harden, Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka in their ranks and the feeling that they could get some ring together. Unfortunately for the franchise, Harden ended up in Houston and Durant decided to change airs in 2016 and sign for the Golden State Warriors , which came from a season of 73 wins and 9 losses and had defeated the Thunder in the Western Conference final. .
Friends for a decade, that decision of Durant completely changed his relationship with Westbrook and began a phase of reconstruction in the franchise. The base endured two more years in Oklahoma, but finally its transfer to the Rockets was consumed after not going far in the Playoffs and announcing the departure of Paul George, another All-Star, to the Clippers.
This early morning, Westbrook first played as a visitor at the Chesapeake Arena in Oklahoma City. Time for tributes, comparisons and claims. Like his former teammate Kendrick Perkins , a pivot who defended the colors of the Thunder for several seasons and considers Westbrook " the best player in franchise history, " ahead of Kevin Durant. The former player, now a television commentator, made the comment on Twitter, adding that during the Playoffs that Westbrook had been injured, Durant had not been able to take the team beyond the second round . Durant, now in the Brooklyn Nets, did not hesitate to answer: "Yes. Our pivot (Perkins) averaged a whopping 2 points and 3 rebounds during that tie. You played tough champion."
There began the fight. " You made the weakest movement in the history of the NBA . Lose against a team when you were winning 3-1 in a conference final and join them the following season? Heart of a champion," Perkins replied. "Weak is starting out, playing important minutes and not having any production. You should have worked on your game as much as I did," Durant replied. And the thing was not there. "That's fine. You worked hard and you still had to join a team that had made 73-9 . It has to be hard to sleep knowing that you chose the funky option," Perkins concluded.
Meanwhile, in the Chesapeake Arena, in a very sentimental environment , Westbrook scored 34 points but could not avoid the defeat of some Rockets (117-92) in which Harden only contributed 17 points. In front, some Thunder that are setting a better season than the one made by the team last year, when Westbrook was still leading the franchise. Danilo Gallinari and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander , who arrived this summer in the transfer of Paul George, added 23 and 20 points, by Chris Paul's 18, which Houston gave, along with several draft elections, in exchange for Westbrook.
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