When is Kevin Durant’s first game against Thunder?
By David Rouben
When will Kevin Durant make his return to Oklahoma City?
Even before Kevin Durant signed with the Golden State Warriors, their series with the Oklahoma City Thunder in last year’s playoffs was enough to make that matchup one of the best rivalries in the NBA. But now that the pride of Oklahoma City has switched allegiances by joining the team that beat them and there’s no shortage of storylines for when these two will meet in the regular season.
The 2016-17 NBA schedule isn’t supposed to be released until late Thursday, but a couple of games have already been leaked by reporters, and the first Warriors-Thunder game was unsurprisingly one of them.
According to silent assassin Marc Stein, Golden State will play host to Russell Westbrook and the Thunder on November 3, marking the first time the two will play at Oracle Arena since Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, when the Warriors came back from 3-1 down. February 11 will be when the prodigal son returns to Chesapeake Arena, where Durant is sure to be greeted by a chorus of boos.
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Despite the dearth of talent on both sides, all the focus will be squarely on Russell Westbrook vs. Kevin Durant, and who will outperform the other. Now that Westbrook is the guy in Oklahoma City, many believe that he could be a frontrunner for MVP next season. He would only further cement that claim if he went off against the Warriors during their regular season meetings.
The two teams are supposed to meet three times in the regular season, but that third game’s date hasn’t been leaked yet.
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Everyone will remember Golden State and Oklahoma City’s epic Western Conference Finals series from last year, and for good reason, but their regular season meetings were just as good. The best game was when Steph Curry fueled a comeback with a 46 point performance and 12 three-pointers, including a game-winning buzzer beater from 35 feet in overtime. If we get something like that again this season, then the real winner of these games will be the fans.
There’s no doubt that these games will make for appointment television, even for the “regular season doesn’t matter” crowd.