The bad blood hasn’t gone away.
In fact, the Oklahoma City Thunder have managed to make Kevin Durant even more resentful since he left the franchise to join the Golden State Warriors in the summer of 2016.
This season, the Thunder gave Durant’s old jersey number, No. 35, to undrafted rookie P.J. Dozier, a gesture that drew ire from the city’s first basketball star. Though Durant said he’s no longer upset with Oklahoma City’s decision, he was initially offended.
“I didn’t have that perspective at first. I didn’t have it when I went back to OKC. I was like, ‘F–k all of them,’” Durant said in an interview with Bleacher Report. “I didn’t have it when they gave my number away. I was, ‘F–k all of them.’ My best friend works for the team, I told him, ‘F–k all y’all. That’s f–ked up.”
Dozier, a South Carolina product, has yet to appear in a game for the Thunder, but when he does, he’ll don the jersey number Durant wore for eight seasons.
“I understand it’s not my number anymore, they can do whatever they want with it, but you hand that number to a two-way player, you’ve got to be, like, ‘Nah, we’ve got too many good memories with this number, man,” Durant said. “But at some point, that thing’s going to be in the rafters anyway; it’s all good.”
Durant also revealed that he still isn’t talking to his former Thunder teammates including point guard Russell Westbrook, but he said in the interview that he hopes that they will eventually reconcile.
“At some point, that thing’s (Durant’s jersey) going to be in the rafters anyway; it’s all good,” Durant said. “I did something they didn’t like. They did something I didn’t like. S–t happens. If I was on my death bed, I guarantee you Sam Presti and Russell Westbrook would come check on me. So I’m going to look at it that way rather than the other way.”
The Warriors play the Thunder in Oklahoma City next Wednesday night when Golden State concludes a four-game road trip.