Watch: Chris Paul locks down Kevin Durant and then draws a charge on him

Two former teammates Chris Paul and Kevin Durant collided in the season opener between the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns. Paul and Durant, both All-Stars, spent the second part of the 2022-23 season together in Phoenix, with Paul eventually leaving in the summer to join the Warriors.

At Chase Center on Tuesday, the two faced each other in a play in the opening quarter. Kevin Durant tried to post up Chris Paul, but the All-Star guard played great defense, locking Durant down and eventually drawing the charge.

Chris Paul has two points, six assists and two rebounds, being 0-6 from the field and 2-3 from the free-throw line in 16 minutes on the floor.

On the contrary, Kevin Durant has stayed in the game for 17 minutes and has 13 points and four rebounds, on 5-13 shooting. The Suns lead by 15 at half-time, 61-46.

Kevin Durant gets standing ovation from Warriors fans in return to San Francisco

Kevin Durant is facing the Golden State Warriors on the road for the first time since leaving the franchise in the summer of 2019. Injuries over the past four years prevented his return to San Francisco as an opponent, but the two-time NBA champion eventually played at Chase Center on Tuesday.

The Warriors welcomed him with a tribute video, while "KD" received a standing ovation from Golden State fans. Prior to the game, Durant even addressed the possibility of the franchise retiring his jersey after his time in the NBA is over:

"Do I want to be honored by a franchise I put work in for? Of course, I would love that. I had some great moments there. I built some solid relationships there. Yeah, man. Hell yeah, that would be sweet," Kevin Durant told Marc J. Spears of Andscape, via Sports Illustrated.

"I love that organization, man. I love my time there, seriously. Me leaving, people shouldn’t doubt that, because I left there."

For his part, Chris Paul aims at nothing else but winning his first NBA championship and has his sights set on that goal in his debut season with the Warriors:

"I think anybody who knows me knows I'm all about winning. Whatever I can do to help our team win. I know Coach and us, we are going to talk about it and see what he likes," Chris Paul told reporters during the Suns' Media Day in early October, via ESPN.

"We've been hooping all summer. I think for the season it's going to be whatever to help our team win, and I think I've at least tried to show or prove that my entire career."

Fans will be keeping an eye on Paul and Durant's title chase moving forward, as the Warriors and Suns are among the favorites for the championship.