Together again.

Russell Westbrook took the floor Sunday to join the West All-Star team, and Steve Kerr elected to keep Kevin Durant on the court. Everyone expected awkwardness and tension, but this is the All-Star Game, and no matter what went on between them, they’re teammates for this game, and they’re in New Orleans to put on a show. And that’s exactly what they did. 

So now are they friends again? Is the beef squashed? Is everything OK? Probably not. Westbrook probably feels the same way he did before the game. But in the end, Westbrook and Durant both elected to just play basketball. Maybe the tension was all fake, just a narrative. Maybe the earth really is flat. 

Their teammates certainly had fun with it: 

But regardless of what the moment meant (or didn’t), it was cool to see Durant and Westbrook lobbing it for each other again. They made one of the most explosive, exciting combos in the NBA for eight years. These All-Star games are the only times we’ll see those moments again, and they provide a reminder of what really was a special team torn apart by Durant’s decision.