According to Osborn, the haul would have been between $30,000 and $35,000.
Durant, teammates dine at steakhouse after all
ESPN report - February 13, 2017 1:16 pm
OKLAHOMA CITY — Following the Golden State Warriors’ win Saturday night over the Thunder, Kevin Durant and several teammates had dinner at the Oklahoma City steakhouse that had previously turned down Durant’s request to rent it out.
Thunder All-Star Russell Westbrook also dined at the popular Oklahoma City restaurant Mahogany Prime Steakhouse on Saturday night, but he was seated in a different area. He didn’t interact with Durant.
Dave Osborn, the proprietor of Mahogany’s downtown location, said Durant’s reps called “three or four weeks ago” requesting to rent out the entire restaurant for the Warriors after the game.
“I thought about it, but I said no, I can’t do that, because I have Thunder players that come in after games,” Osborn said. “Thunder players come in, fans come in, so I just said, ‘I can’t do that to them. It wouldn’t be fair.'”
Mahogany is one of Westbrook’s favorite postgame spots in Oklahoma City.
“He comes in a lot after home games, and he’s got his own room, and it’s always open,” Osborn said. “And I’ve told him that: This room is always open after every single home game.”
Osborn said that shortly after saying no to Durant’s reps he received a call back and that the Warriors star said it would be fine with him if Thunder players were invited to join if they wanted.
“I told them, ‘I apologize, but I just can’t do it. I’ve got to stay true to the fans and the people that come in here because I do have a lot of people that come in after games,'” Osborn said.
Osborn said Durant used to come to the restaurant routinely following games before he left the Thunder in free agency, noting one time Durant was in a private room last season during the Western Conference finals and the Warriors wanted to book the restaurant following a game.
“I went into the room and told Kevin, ‘Hey Kevin, Golden State wanted to book here and I wouldn’t let ’em do it,'” Osborn said, laughing. “And he was all excited about it.”
Osborn said if Durant wanted a reservation he’d be more than happy to accommodate him.
Word of the situation was first revealed when ESPN’s Steve Levy tweeted about it Friday night. Durant’s agent, Rich Kleiman, tweeted a denial in response to Levy, simply saying, “False.”
“I told Steve Levy [on Friday night] because I recognized him when he came in and I was just kind of talking to him and I told him in passing,” Osborn said. “I mean, the publicity is kind of fun because I’ve got news agencies calling and everything like that, but I really just want to focus on my dinner shift and making sure the guests that come in tonight are going to be happy.”
By Royce Young, ESPN Staff Writer. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne contributed to this report and provided the photo.
