Even after a big win for the Oklahoma City Thunder, fans are focused on the next game on the schedule.
On Saturday, the Golden State Warriors will make their way to Oklahoma City for the first time this season.
This will be Kevin Durant’s first time returning to Chesapeake Energy Arena after leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder last July.
There is a lot of speculation about how he will be treated when he returns to Oklahoma City with many wondering whether the fans that cheered for him for years will jeer him.
Durant says that he knows it will be a hard game, especially coming back to an arena where he grew up.
“As an opposing player, I know how fans are. I know what’s important to them and their team. It’s way more important than just one player, but I had so many great memories there. That’s something that’s always going to be a part of me until I die. I’m not going there acting like I’m going to be praised. I know how it is,” Durant told ESPN.
When asked if he was ready to face his former team in his former home arena, he said he is going to have to keep his emotions in check.
“Emotionally, I don’t know. Playing in front of those fans again, as a Warrior at that, a team that they hate, I know they’re going to be rowdy in there, man. I’ve been a part of some of their loudest nights in that arena so I know it’s not going to be the friendliest welcome, but it’s a new chapter in my life. I decided to move on but for them, I know it still hurts. It still hurts for me to move on. They looked at me as their son. I was there since I was 19-years-old and I grew up there. Like I said, I understand, man. It’s all a part of playing sports, it’s all a part of being a fan. I embrace it all,” he said.
The Oklahoma City Thunder will take on the Golden State Warriors inside Chesapeake Energy Arena with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m.