Kendrick Perkins has once again spoken about the relationship between his former Oklahoma City Thunder teammates Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. When asked about his experience playing alongside the two future Hall of Famers on the Straight Game Podcast, Perkins delved a bit into the relationship.
"So, it was a blessing, seriously, to play with those two guys," Perkins said. "Did they see eye to eye with KD and Russ? No, they didn't see eye to eye... Now we had arguments, scraps, debates every f***ing day with the Celtics. But when I got to OKC, it was something there that I've never seen before.
"As far as a bunch of young guys trying to find their way, but at that time, each guy had their partners with them," Perkins said. "They partners was breaking up s*** that could have been a lot stronger. And so they weren't f***ing with each other outside of the court, but between those lines, it was them because they was that special. You know what I'm saying?
"So it was certain things that you could address, but it was a blessing," Perkins added.
That might be the first time we've heard about Durant and Westbrook's partners affecting the relationship between them. Perkins didn't elaborate any further on the subject, though.
In the past, Perkins has spoken about how Durant and Westbrook never got on the same page. He stated that the brotherhood was just never there and that they tried to fake it in public.
Perkins became teammates with Durant and Westbrook in 2011 when the Boston Celtics traded him to the Thunder. He claimed that when he arrived, he saw that Westbrook, James Harden, Eric Maynor, and Daequan Cook had their little clique. Durant, meanwhile, was by himself and didn't hang out with the group.
Was Durant and Westbrook not being the best of friends a reason why those Thunder teams never went all the way? It's hard to say. One can argue that injuries and a brutal Western Conference had more to do with that.
Durant and Westbrook led a young Thunder team to the NBA Finals in 2012, where they lost to the Miami Heat in five games. They looked to have a good chance of getting back to the big stage the following year, but Westbrook tore his lateral meniscus in the first round of the 2013 playoffs. He was ruled out for the remainder of the playoffs, and the Thunder would lose in the Conference Semifinals.
Then in 2014, the Thunder made it to the Western Conference Finals, where they lost in six games to a formidable San Antonio Spurs team. That Spurs outfit would go on to crush the Heat in the NBA Finals, and there was no shame in losing to them.
The Thunder's hopes of having back-to-back deep playoff runs were dashed as the injury bug struck Durant in 2014-15. He would only end up featuring in 27 games and was ruled out for the rest of the season in March. With their superstar missing so much time, the Thunder didn't even make the playoffs.
The 2015-16 season would then prove to be Durant and Westbrook's last as teammates. The Thunder would again make their way to the Western Conference Finals, where they faced another powerhouse in the 73-9 Golden State Warriors. They went up 3-1 in the series, but then famously blew that lead and lost in seven games.
Durant then shocked the basketball world by joining the Warriors the following offseason. He and Westbrook definitely didn't seem to be on good terms for quite some time after that, but have now somewhat mended fences. Durant even claimed that there was never any beef between him and Westbrook, but not many were buying that.
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