Russell Westbrook downplays the Thunder's upcoming matchup with the Warriors, saying he plays every game like it's his last, and that he's done answering questions about Kevin Durant. (0:40)

It was sometime after 10 p.m. local time on May 30, and Kevin Durant was still lingering on the floor of Oracle Arena. Confetti was splashed all over the floor, the Golden State Warriors were celebrating and Durant stood near the visitor's tunnel, jersey untucked, just sort of ... lingering.

Durant had scored 27 points for the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7, including seven straight to cut the Golden State Warriors' lead to four with 1:40 left. He was spent, both physically and emotionally. A 3-1 series lead had slipped through his hands, and the Thunder had fallen short of the Finals. His team already back in the locker room, Durant stood alone for a few seconds, before ducking through the tunnel and off the floor.

The Thunder make their return to Oracle for the first time since that fateful Game 7 on Thursday and not just without Durant, but to play against him. The floor Durant walked off crestfallen in May is now his home for the foreseeable future.

For the Thunder, it will be a jarring experience. Some within the organization have said they aren't sure how they'll react to seeing Durant on the other bench. Some have said they've moved on and won't be fazed. Among the latter is Russell Westbrook, who is pragmatic -- Durant is an opponent, and Westbrook doesn't like opponents. In some ways, Westbrook is ambivalent, claiming his team has his only attention. He didn't watch Durant's first game with the Warriors, instead playing poker with friends and finding out about the score only when his wife told him the next morning.

Westbrook and Durant spent eight seasons together, but their supposedly unbreakable bond was severed when Durant announced he was joining the Warriors on July 4. When they meet on the floor Thursday, it will be the first time they've spoken since (assuming they speak). All eyes will be on their handshake before tipoff, but Westbrook doesn't do that before games with opponents. He sprints under the opposing basket, stares into the crowd, pumps his arms and gets ready to play. The only people he daps up are the ones wearing the same jersey as him. He says he only has one friend during a game: the ball.

The Thunder have started 4-0, the lone unbeaten left in the West, and have taken on a part of Westbrook's personality as their identity. They play hard, they're not always pretty, they mess up plenty, but they don't let up. There's so much attention on Westbrook and Durant, it's been overlooked this will be an uncomfortable night for Nick Collison, for Steven Adams, for Anthony Morrow, for Enes Kanter and for Andre Roberson. They all believed Durant was coming back, too. Everyone is fascinated by how Westbrook might play -- will he try to dunk so hard a vortex is created in downtown Oakland and Durant is swallowed whole by it? -- but it's going to be worth watching Westbrook's teammates.

"We all played with Kevin, we all were disappointed he left," Collison said. "So it's not like it's just Russ. It's something that we're all going to deal with, seeing one of our guys playing somewhere else. It'll be a big game and everyone's going to play hard for sure but there's a lot of reasons that's going to happen."

Durant, by nature, is a pretty non-confrontational person. He's easy going, easy to get along with and adaptable to any group of people. He wants the idea that there's a "beef" with Westbrook to evaporate. Westbrook, though, is guarded, skeptical and values loyalty. He doesn't mind butting heads with anyone, whether it's a teammate, a coach or a reporter. It sets a strange scenario on Thursday, one where there's genuine unknown of what may happen.

"They're gonna play basketball," Anthony Morrow said. "That's it."

The Thunder return to Oracle six months later in a different world. When they left on May 30, they thought they'd be coming back better and stronger than ever, the likely favorite to win it all. Instead, they're a franchise that was pushed to the brink of unraveling, and building a new identity behind Westbrook. While most expected them to fall back, Westbrook only pushes forward. Asked on Wednesday after their 85-83 win against the Clippers if he's surprised at the way the Thunder have begun the season, Westbrook flashed his trademark disdain.

"Who said that?" Westbrook snapped. "A lot of folks," a reporter responded. Westbrook cut his eyes over and defiantly grinned. "That's where they went wrong."