“I think about it and say to myself that if this is the worst thing I ever go through in life, then all in all, I’ve had a pretty good life. That’s the way I’ve got to look at it.”

Oden spends his time rehabilitating and watching game film and television. He is a fan of the show “Gossip Girl.” The passion to play remains, he said. His mother and grandmother are his biggest supporters. “You know how moms are,” Oden said.

Durant, meanwhile, wishes Oden well. They do not talk much anymore. It seems like an eternity since they were separated by moments at the N.B.A. draft podium, shaking Stern’s hand. Durant figures he cannot say more than what Oden has heard a million times. When they do talk, he tries to keep the conversation away from basketball.

“I know everyone’s always in his ear,” Durant said.

Before the Nov. 4 game, Roy said he agreed with the Trail Blazers’ mind-set when Kevin Pritchard, then the team’s general manager, selected Oden with the No. 1 overall pick. Still, Roy acknowledged, he could easily have coexisted with Durant on the court.

“I don’t know if he could have been the league-leading scorer so soon,” Roy said, envisioning Durant as a Trail Blazer. “But I do think we could have found a way to play together.”

Oden’s initial season was wiped away before it began when he had microfracture surgery on his right knee. Injuries then limited him to 61 games in 2008-9. But by last season, his third, his potential was starting to transform into real productivity.

Coach Nate McMillan informed Oden in training camp that he would have to win a starting position. He did. Oden had a game in which he scored 24 points. Then came a 20-rebound performance. Roy noticed how quickly opposing big men were being saddled with foul trouble. There was more space for Oden’s drives to the basket. He was learning to conserve his energy on the court.