The Oklahoma City Thunder will retire Russell Westbrook’s No. 0 jersey on 7 February, honouring the 2017 NBA MVP at a home game against the New York Knicks.
General manager Sam Presti made the announcement on Monday (US time) at Oklahoma City’s Day One Luncheon, with Westbrook on stage, Yahoo Sports reported. Westbrook wiped away tears as the news was revealed, and the Thunder then released a video montage of his time with the club.
“Many players make an impact but only great players leave a legacy,” Presti said in a team statement. “Russell Westbrook’s legacy was built both on the court and in the community.”
Westbrook was also honoured at the luncheon with the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum’s 2026 Oklahoma Standard Award, News 9 reported.
Knicks the opponent on the big night
The ceremony will be held at Paycom Center when the Thunder host the reigning champion Knicks, in a game to be shown nationally in the US as NBC’s Sunday Night Basketball fixture. Westbrook will join Nick Collison in the Paycom Center rafters, USA Today’s Thunder Wire noted.
For Australian fans, the Sunday night game in Oklahoma City falls on Monday 8 February.
Read more: NBA triple double specialist Russell Westbrook retires at the age of 37
A franchise icon
Westbrook was selected with the No. 4 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, shortly before the franchise moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City, and spent the first 11 of his 18 NBA seasons with the Thunder from 2008 to 2019. He remains the Thunder/SuperSonics franchise’s all-time leading scorer with 18,859 points, according to BasketNews.
His 2016-17 season was the high point. He averaged a triple-double, broke Oscar Robertson’s single-season record with 42 triple-doubles and was named MVP. He finished his career as the NBA’s all-time leader with 209 triple-doubles.
Westbrook earned eight of his nine All-Star selections and eight of his nine All-NBA selections in Oklahoma City, and helped the Thunder reach the 2012 NBA Finals alongside Kevin Durant and James Harden.
Read more: Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace to Undergo Surgery as Thunder Reel
After leaving the Thunder in 2019, he also played for the Houston Rockets, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings before announcing his retirement in August.
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