It’s funny to watch Oklahoma City fans get all pissy when Kevin Durant comes to town.
Wednesday night, the Golden State Warriors found their way to the MidFirst Bank Arena and as it was last year, the Thunder Faithful treated KD and his burner Twitter account to a healthy round of boos, taunts and signs proclaiming things like “Integrity Trumps Rings,” which is the kind of thing you have to tell yourself when you get Dumped.
And there’s no love lost between the fans or the teams. Russell Westbrook has never gotten over KD’s it’s-not-you-it’s-me routine. Durant announced his plans in a web post. It wasn’t quite “Taking my talents to South Beach,” but then again, KD isn’t quite Lebron either.
But the story is that Russ heard about Durant signing with Golden State through Twitter, which I could see being shocking. Russ found out he was dumped when KD changed his Facebook status.
That stings.
Last year he took it out on EVERYONE, averaging a triple double and taking home the MVP trophy and even one-upped KD on the size of the contract.
Durant, however, also took home an MVP trophy. From the NBA finals. It goes with his ring. And he’s well on the way to another.
He’d been in Oklahoma eight years prior to leaving, seven of them with Westbrook. Both Westbrook and Oklahoma City fans had come to see him AS the franchise. He was their best player, their brightest light, all they knew.
And then he dumped them for a hotter, younger model. It’s not you it’s me.
And they turned on him like he was a traitor, which he kind of was. Instead of trying to figure out a way to beat the Warriors, Durant joined them. He’s lucky he didn’t pull that shit in Philly. We’ve been known to throw batteries.
But even in Oklahoma – a place I’ve never been, but imagine to be like living in a loaf of stale Wonder Bread, with about as much color and nightlife – things got chippy.
Westbrook and Durant faced off during the game, butting heads with their squads behind them. And for the first time, Westbrook got the best of Durant and the Thunder got a win.
I’ve watched Durant’s career from the outset though. Because I live in Seattle. Most people forget that the Seattle Supersonics drafted him (and Westbrook, technically, though the team moved six days later), and he played his first season here, just before David Stern held this city hostage and let Clay Bennett steal the team. It wasn’t quite the Colts moving in the middle of the night or even the Browns becoming the Ravens, but it was close.
You know who hasn’t forgotten? Seattle. That should have been their team, their playoff runs, their shots at a parade.
But despite his public promises to to keep the team in Seattle, scumbag screwhead Clay Bennett never had any intention of doing anything other than slinking back to Oklahoma City and there are emails to prove it. David Stern didn’t care though. The city of Seattle, which was still paying off the arena they refurnished for the Sonics less than 15 years earlier and voters were a bit leary of building a new one.
So like the greedy bastard he was, Stern made the city an example and let Bennett take the team out of the 14th largest market in the country and move to the 45th.
It was shocking.
But it worked. Ask the Clippers. And the Chargers.
Which is why it’s kind of funny to me when those fans feel somehow slighted or start talking about integrity.
YOU ARE THE MISTRESS. WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?
Shut up. Suck it up. You and your ill-gotten franchise deserve to be dumped, you philandering bastards. You deserve to lose. Forever. Or at least as long as Clay Bennett or his heirs own the team. I’m glad Kevin Durant jilted your asses and i’m even more glad he won elsewhere. I’m glad he rubs it in your faces and I hope this year it’s James Harden, the guy you cast off, that crushes your dreams.
Sorry Thunder fans, but may the Curse of Clay Bennett live forever.
Long Live the SuperSonics.
Ah, but it’s Thanksgiving so let’s end on a high note.
This year I am thankful for a lot of reasons. I am thankful to be a Philadelphia Sports fan, where I get to root for Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons and Carson Wentz and Rhys Hoskins for the foreseeable future. I am thankful to have never worked for Charlie Rose. I am thankful my team didn’t cheap out and sign Blair Walsh. I’m thankful for my beautiful wife and the baby that’s ready to make an appearance any day now (“Embiid” is a great name for a boy or a girl, right?). I’m thankful that I live 3,000 miles away from the family whose politics I avoid on Facebook so I don’t have to try and explain that “SAD!” is not a policy position or that NO ONE IS PROTESTING THE ANTHEM before i can eat pie. I am thankful to have met the Guru and the team behind the scenes who helped get this whole thing off the ground.
And of course, I am thankful for you, the listeners and readers.
Happy Thanksgiving, all.
Yeah.
Lestro 11/22/17