Golden State Warriors

Russell Westbrook shows up for Kevin Durant rematch in Willie Beamen jersey

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 1:23 p.m. ET

Fansided, Gerald Bourguet/Fansided

NBA Twitter blew up trying to figure out what Russell Westbrook’s Willie Beamen jersey meant heading into Kevin Durant’s first game back in Oklahoma City. We’ve got some suggestions.

In what might be the most anticipated regular season game of the 2016-17 NBA schedule, Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors are heading into hostile territory Saturday as they face the Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Aside from their last meeting being Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, when Klay Thompson went nuclear for a playoff record 11 three-pointers to carry Golden State from the brink of elimination, this matchup also features KD’s first game back in OKC since leaving the Thunder to join the Dubs.

As such, the headlines this week have all revolved around KD’s homecoming, how hostile the crowd will be, the heightened security and how Russ — a player who plays every game like armageddon is nigh — will take out his anger over Durant’s free agency betrayal.

Westbrook has repeatedly denied that he will approach this game any differently from every other game, and as a player who plays with 110 percent energy every night, he’s earned that right. But once again, his actions (possibly) speak louder than words:

#RussellWestbrook arrives for tonight's #NBAonABC action in OKC! pic.twitter.com/OUH9bY03e3

— NBA (@NBA) February 11, 2017

Hours before the highly anticipated third matchup between these two teams, Russ came strolling into Chesapeake Energy Arena sporting a Willie Beamen jersey — a reference to the classic sports movie Any Given Sunday.

The question is, does this jersey have any extra significance? For a fashion mogul like Westbrook, every outfit is put together with purpose. There could very easily be some thinly veiled jabs hidden in the choosing of a Beamen jersey.

Beamen, played by Jamie Foxx in the film, is a third string quarterback who rises to stardom when he fills in as the starting QB but also struggles with leadership and self-centered behavior.

That could very well be a reference to Russ’ own critics, who constantly hammered him for not sharing the ball or being a traditional point guard when KD was around but are now praising him as he’s on pace to join Oscar Roberston as the only players in NBA history to average a triple-double for a season.

It could also refer to the end of the movie, when Beamen and his head coach leave the team to head up an expansion team in a different state — much like the Thunder are a whole new franchise now that KD is gone. Essentially, it could be his way of saying it’s Russ’ time to be the starting QB of his own team.

However, we also can’t ignore the numbers of the jersey: No. 13. This could be playing right into the hands to NBA Twitter’s favorite 3-1 jokes, which come at the expense of the Dubs after they blew a 3-1 lead in the 2016 NBA Finals. (We should point out, however, that the Thunder blew a 3-1 lead of their own in the conference finals.)

This could even be a shout-out to former Thunder teammate James Harden, who sports the No. 13 and once played with Westbrook and KD on a team that went to the Finals. Harden’s departure was the first domino to fall in unraveling a team that should’ve won a title together, meaning this could be an allusion to how things fell apart, or even as simple as suggesting that he views Harden as a better player/former teammate than KD.

Or, you know, it could just be that Russell Westbrook digs Jamie Foxx and thinks Any Given Sunday is a dope move.