Russell Westbrook and the Los Angeles Clippers are preparing for their first round series against Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns. All eyes are on the former teammates who played eight seasons together with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Russell Westbrook played eight seasons with Kevin Durant on the Thunder, playing a total of 526 regular season games. The duo had put togther a 331-195 record in the regular season and a 47-35 playoff record. Durant and Westbrook reached the NBA Finals in 2012, but ultimately fell in five games to LeBron James and the Miami Heat.

This year's Clippers-Suns series will mark the first time since their separation in 2016 that Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant will face off against one another in a playoff series despite being in the same conference in the past.

Ahead of Sunday's Game 1, Durant spoke with members of Suns media at practice, where he was asked about Westbrook and if that competitive edge is still there against one another.

“I think Russ is competitive against any player he plays against,” Kevin Durant said of Russell Westbrook, per Duane Rankin of AZ Central. “I don't think it was just specific to me. I think a lot of the fans and the people that were watching, it was high-intensity for them, it was entertainment for them. For us players, it's just another game, it's regularly scheduled programming, but Russ is that way. I've played with him for so long and watched him for so long, he was that way against everybody, so I don't expect anything different.”

The Clippers also hosted a practice on Wednesday, where Russell Westbrook spoke with members of the media. Among the topics Westbrook addressed was his relationship with Kevin Durant and what the series has in store for the two former Thunder teammates.

“It's nothing, it'll be normal for me,” Russell Westbrook said of facing Kevin Durant for the first time in a playoff series. “I think people still think there's some beef or something. There's no beef of any sort. I think that's the narrative for media, for people to talk about. But there's no beef that I got. Nothing but respect for him and things he's done with his career. Happy to see him back from injury. There's no beef at all. He knows I'm gonna compete, I know he's gonna compete, and that's all it is.”

Since joining the Clippers after the NBA trade deadline, Russell Westbrook has played 21 games, averaging 15.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 7.6 assists, and 1.1 steals per game on 48.9 percent shooting from the field and 35.6 percent from three. Over an 82-game season, both of those percentages would mark career-highs for Westbrook.

Kevin Durant's tenure with the Suns has been an interesting one. He was acquired after at the NBA trade deadline, but remained out with a leg injury sustained on January 8th against the Miami Heat.

Durant returned from injury, played three games on the road, and suffered an ankle sprain just an hour before his home debut. Phoenix would play the next 10 without him, going 4-6 before he returned to play five straight. In total, the Suns went undefeated in the eight games Durant played in.

In those games, Kevin Durant averaged 26 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game on 57 percent shooting from the field and 53.7 percent from three.

Game 1 between the Clippers and Suns is Sunday at 5PM PST on Bally Sports and TNT.