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Friendly Warriors fan here: Having an argument with a friend about who the leader of OKC is.

My stance: I don't know and you don't know as it seems to be a private issue. After searching for the answer I could not find it anywhere.

Friends stance: Westbrook is the leader of OKC.

Is this true? Is Westbrook really more of a leader than Durant?

I figure you guys get to watch games locally and get more in depth descriptions of what's actually going on behind the scenes. Here in California, we rarely get OKC games and don't get much coverage on the team. Any information from the die hard OKC fans would be appreciated. Thanks!

Durant, without question.

It's Durant's.

Honestly though, Perkins has and definitely will provide the leadership they need. He yells at players when they do wrong, something that needs to be done. I believe he's yelled at Ibaka for being out of position and at westbrook for something else. Durant would never do that. The most I've seen Durant do is kinda talk to whoever made the mistake, like he did with Harden when he told him to just dunk it instead of laying it in.

Byron Mullens!

of course its Durant i mean he carried the Thunder in the playoffs last year.. right?? lol

it's Durant

Durant

Amazing how one nationally televised game is starting all this

Thanks for the info guys!

I'm not really asking who is the better player because that's obvious it's Durant. By leader I mean leadership. Who's the vocal presence on the team? Who makes sure everyone is doing what they are supposed too? Who do the teammates follow? Who get's the teams head out of their ass when they're messing up? Basically, who is your teams Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan. I think it's Durant, my cousin seems to think it's Westbrook.

theokie wrote:Durant

Amazing how one nationally televised game is starting all this

you said the same thing in my player comparision thread
i don't even live in the usa

Is durant having a better or worse season then last year? I+m not sure about stats, but he was in mvp discussion last year, but not really this year. Russ made a big improvement, so the difference is much smaller then last year. Russ plays the pg spot. Durant doesn't really have the personality to lead, but i'm not sure Russ has either. Thunder didn't won a game without Russ this year .

So the real leader is... khm... collison? perkins can be an enforcer, not a leader.

Westbrook is a great up and coming player, but will never reach Durant greatness. Durant is the leader of that team in the locker-room and everywhere else. All the players know who's the boss. Its durant. Westbrook is still averaging the most turnovers in the league, gambles too often for steals and doesnt play good defense at all. He has improved offensively a lot. His mid-range jumper is money, his 3-point shot is slowly coming around and he's finishing a lot better at the basket (imo). He's out of control sometimes when he thinks he has to force it. He needs to slow down a bit. He's a great player and i am excited to see this young man play in the future.

The first year the Spurs won the championship David Robinson and Tim Duncan were the best players on the team but Avery Johnson was the leader.

I do believe Durant is the best player on this team but Westbrook is just as much of a leader as Durant if not more.

Also since the Kendrick Perkins trade there has been a lot of talk about Perkins leading this team defensively.

So there you have it!

I think throughout the playoffs we'll see Perkins emerge as our clear floor leader due to his veteran and playoff experience. As someone mentioned above, we've already seen him yell at players when they are out of position/forcing stupid possessions, and this was exactly what the Thunder were missing. Durant is more of a silent killer than an animated vocal leader. Next season I believe Perk will really be established as the main guy, and I think everyone else on the team will be cool with that.

It's nice to have a guy like Perkins on our team. Besides Perkins, Nick Collison also play an important role by conducting teammates on the defensive end.

I haven't been able to watch the Thunder play much since the trade. Has Perk and Nazr controlled and defended the paint as expected as well as controlling the boards?