It won't be long before the Oklahoma City Thunder
honor one of their franchise legends. They have announced on Monday that Russell Westbrook will have his No. 0 jersey retired on Sunday, Feb. 7, before they face the New York Knicks
.
This felt inevitable. Westbrook announced his NBA retirement this past offseason. He played a legendary 18 seasons in the league from 2008-26. The first 11 were with the Thunder — which were arguably his best years both on an individual and team level.
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Westbrook is one of the era-defining NBA superstars of the 2010s. He completely rewrote what the triple-double accolade meant. He was a one-time MVP winner and perennial All-Star and All-NBA member in his time in OKC. Alongside Kevin Durant, he co-starred in OKC's first title contender with a handful of deep playoff runs.
Looking through franchise records, Westbrook is at the top for most — if not all — for the Thunder. Alongside Durant and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, those three are viewed as the biggest superstars in OKC's brief and successful franchise history.
In his preseason press conference, Thunder GM Sam Presti had alluded to plans being made for Westbrook's jersey retirement. Those have obviously been finalized now. Against the reigning NBA champions is a formidable plan. He will join Nick Collison in the Paycom Center rafters. This will be on national TV as NBC's Sunday Night Basketball game.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire:
OKC Thunder to retire Russell Westbrook's No. 0 jersey on Sunday, Feb. 7
