Former teammates, and great friends, will now be playing against each other in the upcoming 2016-17 season.

Kevin Durant has joined the Golden State Warriors and Russell Westbrook is still a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, as of now.

Their days together were unbelieveable, including a 2012 NBA Finals run as well many deep postseason drives. It is time for a new chapter for each of their careers, with Westbrook being the undisputed leader in Oklahoma City, and with Kevin Durant joining the 73-9 juggernaut.

Durant had thisthis to say about Russell Westbrook's feelings on him joining the Warriors.

“Obviously it's tough. We were teammates for so long and had a lot of great memories. I'm sure he wasn't happy about the decision. But he respected it as my friend. And the relationship was great. You know, we had great years, man. It's something that you'll never take away from us. But, like I said, I wanted a new chapter in my life. I felt like it was time for it, and I made this decision. I couldn't consider totally everybody's feelings at this point because it'll be hard to. So I just tried to focus on me but also realize the relationships that I had I still wanted those to be.”

Obviously, with Russell being a competitor and having just battled with the Warriors in a seven-game series a month ago, he probably would have preferred Durant to go somewhere other than the Bay. However, as Durant said, Russ respected his decision as a friend, and that is all that really matters.

Playing in the NBA is a temporary thing, but friendships can last forever. Don't expect there to be anything held back when they face off this season, though.

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