Thunder elevate Russell Westbrook to legendary status

The Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA) paid tribute to Russell Westbrook, one of their greatest legends, by announcing that they will retire the No. 0 jersey he wore throughout his career.

"The Thunder will retire Westbrook's jersey on Feb. 7 when they face the defending champion New York Knicks at Paycom Center," the franchise announced in a statement.

Westbrook, one of the NBA's best players of the past two decades, decided to retire from professional basketball at age 37 in August, bringing an end to an 18-season career marked by individual records (no one has recorded more triple-doubles than he has to date) and the regular-season MVP award he won in 2017.

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Russell Westbrook announces his retirement from the NBA after 18 seasons and a historic career

Diane Hernández

"We are incredibly proud to retire Russell’s number. Russell made a lasting mark on the city and state during his time with the team, and his involvement in the community has endured long after," said Thunder President Clayton I. Bennett.

"We are deeply grateful for his genuine care for the people of Oklahoma, and he will always be considered a member of the Oklahoma City community," he added.

Westbrook played for the Thunder from the time he was selected fourth overall in the 2008 draft until 2019. Throughout those years, the former player became Oklahoma City's leader in many categories: games played (821), points (18,859), rebounds (5,760), assists (6,897), steals (1,442), field goals made (6,626) and minutes played (28,329).

During this time, he led the Thunder to the NBA Finals in 2012 and led the franchise to the NBA Playoffs nine times, reaching the Western Conference Finals four times.

After leaving Oklahoma City in 2019, Westbrook played for several franchises until his retirement: the Houston Rockets, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings. In total, he played in 1,436 NBA games and scored 30,211 points, according to league statistics compiled on the NBA's website.