A jersey in the rafters against the champions
Oklahoma City has set the date. The Thunder announced on Monday that Russell Westbrook’s No. 0 will be retired on February 7 at Paycom Center, before the home game against the Knicks, the reigning NBA champions. L’Équipe and Reuters carried the news.
The number is no surprise. Westbrook wore 0 for his whole run with the franchise, from 2008 to 2019, his first eleven seasons in a career that lasted eighteen years before he retired in August.
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The franchise record book, line by line
He holds the Thunder marks for games played (821), points (18,859), rebounds (5,760), assists (6,897), steals (1,442), field goals made (6,626) and minutes (28,329). Nine All-Star selections round it out.
The triple-double total says the most. His 209 regular-season triple-doubles remain the league record, though Nikola Jokic, who passed 200 this season, is closing in. The 2016-17 season, when he averaged a triple-double and won MVP, is the peak of his Oklahoma years.
One of their own
Thunder chairman Clayton Bennett pointed to Westbrook’s work in the community, which carried on long after he left. Sam Presti said people in Oklahoma saw him as one of theirs.
The banner will go up in an arena that now belongs to a new generation, but Westbrook is the one who gave the franchise its early identity in Oklahoma.
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