OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Russell Westbrook’s No. 0 is headed to the rafters in Oklahoma City. Thunder general manager Sam Presti surprised the former star on Monday by announcing the team will retire his jersey on Feb. 7, 2027, at Paycom Center.
Presti broke the news at the annual Day One Luncheon held by the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, where Westbrook had come to accept the Oklahoma Standard Award. That honor recognizes people who give back through service and compassion and improve the lives of those around them. Westbrook grew emotional as he talked about arriving in Oklahoma City at 19 from his hometown of Los Angeles and how the community stood by him.
Before the reveal, Presti walked the crowd through three conversations that shaped their years together, including one in 2013 while Westbrook was recovering from a knee injury and another in the summer of 2016 after Kevin Durant left. Westbrook went on to win the league MVP award in a season in which he averaged a triple-double.
The ceremony will come before the Thunder’s game against the New York Knicks that Sunday night. Westbrook will join Nick Collison as the only Thunder players with retired numbers hanging at Paycom Center.
Westbrook retired from the NBA this past offseason after 18 seasons. He spent his first 11 with the franchise, made the All-Star team regularly during his time in Oklahoma City, and still holds many of the team’s career records. He and Durant led the franchise’s first run as a title contender, a stretch that included several deep playoff runs, and he is often named with Durant and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the biggest stars in Thunder history.
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