On Thursday, Russell Westbrook made his first trip back to Oklahoma City as a member of the Houston Rockets.
To celebrate that return, former Cleveland Cavaliers center Kendrick Perkins sent out his lofty opinion of his former teammate via social media.
In about 30 minutes I’m going to give my opinion on @SportsCenter on why Believe that Russell Westbrook is the best player to have ever put on a Oklahoma City Thunder Jersey!!! He is MR. THUNDER!!!
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) January 9, 2020
Russell Westbrook in Thunder History…
1st in point with 18,859
1st in Assists with 6,897
1st in rebounds with 5,760
1st in steals with 1,442
138 triple doubles in a Thunder uniform!!! 🤷🏾♂️— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) January 9, 2020
When Perkins was pushed to admit that Kevin Durant was in fact the best Oklahoma City Thunder player ever, the former big man did not budge.
Hey Kevin left the door open and Russ walked right in
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) January 9, 2020
KD lost in the second round without Russ when I was there. So what that mean?
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) January 9, 2020
Durant then caught wind of the conversation and engaged Perkins in what became an epic Twitter argument.
Facts on the averages and facts on the Champ part too!!!
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) January 10, 2020
Boy stop you did the weakest move in NBA History!!! Up on a team 3-1 in the western conference finals and then go join them the following season?! Heart of Champion right there
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) January 10, 2020
That’s fine!!! You worked that hard and still had to go join a 73-9 team. Truth be told you don’t even feel like a real Champ, you have hard time sleeping at night huh knowing that you took the coward way out!!!
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) January 10, 2020
Perkins played with both Westbrook and Durant on the Thunder for three and a half seasons. He was originally acquired from the Boston Celtics midway through the 2010-11 season to add some muscle and toughness to what was a young and inexperienced Thunder squad.
With Durant and Westbrook evolving into elite players, the Thunder reached the NBA Finals in 2012, only to lose in five games to the Miami Heat.
At the time, it was thought to be the first of several trips to the championship series for them, but it wasn’t meant to be.
When the Thunder blew a 3-1 series lead to the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 Western Conference Finals, it was the end of an era for Oklahoma City.
Durant fled as a free agent to Golden State, and Westbrook endured three more fruitless seasons in Oklahoma City until being dealt to Houston.
