Kendrick Lamar lyrically summed up Kevin Durant’s betrayal against Russell Westbrook by calling out their tension in 2016

Kendrick Lamar lyrically summed up Kevin Durant's betrayal against Russell Westbrook by calling out their tension in 2016

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook had a great relationship up until 2016, the year Durant made the infamous move to leave the Thunder and join the Golden State Warriors.

After the 2015-16 season when the Warriors went 73-9 and lost the NBA title, the incoming free agency would be the most important free agency period in NBA history.

However, nobody had any idea at the time. Kevin Durant was going to be a free agent, but most signs pointed to him signing with the OKC Thunder again, or perhaps, joining his hometown team, the Washington Wizards.

Nobody could have predicted that Durant was going to join the best regular season of all time. There’s no way he’d join the team that just beat him in the playoffs right before the Finals, right?

The rumor train started to chug, however, and suddenly on July 4th, 2016, the unthinkable happened. Durant was a Golden State Warrior, and the NBA was permanently changed.

For the next four years, the Warriors ruled the NBA. Durant was made to be the villain of the league, and there was nobody who could stop the Warriors except themselves.

The Golden State dynasty came tumbling to an end due to injuries and some feuds in the final season which led to Durant’s exit from the team.

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Kendrick Lamar referenced Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in his song

During Durant’s stint with the Warriors, there was one notable relationship that was affected. Of course, Durant and Westbrook had been running mates in OKC all along, and when Durant made the move to join GSW, it seemed like he was backstabbing Westbrook.

Their relationship simmered, and it came to a boil when the two met up against each other. There was a lot of trash-talking, and there was some head-butting. Quite literally, the two couldn’t stand each other.

Kendrick Lamar quoted the two in his song, The Heart Part 4:

“Tables turned, lessons learned, my best look

You jumped sides on me, now you ’bout to meet Westbrook

Go celebrate with your team and let victory vouch you

Just know the next game played, I might slap the (expletive) out you

Technical foul, I’m flagrant, I’m foul

They throwin’ me out, you throw in the towel”

It summed everything up perfectly.

Durant and Westbrook made up

Despite the fact that tensions rose that high, the two were eventually able to make peace. They started communicating, and there wasn’t as much head-banging anymore.

They even linked up for a sick alley-oop.

Both them and the league have moved on from the dark days of the Warriors, and now, things are all good.

Also Read: “Do Something Else, Luka Doncic! I’m Bored!”: Jason Kidd Reacts to Incredible 41-Point Triple-Double Performance With Side-Splitting Statement

Post Edited By: Ashish Priyadarshi
Kevin Durant NBA Russell Westbrook

About the author

Ashish Priyadarshi

Ashish Priyadarshi is The SportsRush's content manager and editor. Ashish freelanced for 1 year in the NFL division before taking on an editorial role in the company. He then tacked on managing content while adding on a writing role in the NBA division. Ashish has been closely following the NFL and NBA since the 2012 season when the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and Derrick Rose was at the height of his powers. Since then, Ashish has focused on honing his knowledge for both leagues in, even writing crossover pieces. In his free time, Ashish is an avid basketball player, he loves to watch movies and TV shows, immersing himself in the cinematic world. Ashish studies computer science and data science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and would love to mesh his love for sports with his technical skills.

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