Thunder to Retire Westbrook's No. 0 Jersey on Feb. 7
The guard holds the franchise record for points, rebounds, assists, and steals after an 11-season run in Oklahoma City.
By Alina Carter ·
The Oklahoma City Thunder will remove Russell Westbrook’s number 0 from circulation in a ceremony scheduled for February 7.
The event will take place during halftime of a game against the New York Knicks, the current NBA champions. Westbrook, who is 37 years old, spent eleven seasons with the franchise before retiring following his final year with the Sacramento Kings. He finished as the team leader in games played, points, rebounds, assists, steals, field goals made, and minutes on the court.
Clayton Bennett, the president of the Thunder, released a statement praising the player’s impact. “We are extremely proud to retire Russell’s number. During his time with the team, Russell left an indelible mark on the city and state, and his commitment to the community has endured for a long time,” Bennett said. The organization views Westbrook as the statistical cornerstone of its history during that era.
Westbrook’s statistical profile for the Thunder includes 18,859 points, 5,760 rebounds, 6,897 assists, and 1,442 steals across 821 games. He also leads the franchise in field goals made with 6,626 and in minutes played with 28,329. These totals place him above all other players in the team’s record books for those specific categories.
The guard entered the league in the 2008 draft when the Seattle Supersonics selected him with the fourth overall pick. The team relocated to Oklahoma City before the season began, so Westbrook never wore a Seattle uniform. He joined a backcourt that included Kevin Durant and James Harden. All three players won MVP awards at some point in their careers and reached the NBA Finals in 2012. They lost that series to the Miami Heat.
Westbrook stayed in Oklahoma City longer than Durant or Harden. After eleven campaigns, he moved to the Houston Rockets. His subsequent career included stints with the Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, and Sacramento Kings. His longevity in the league is reflected in his league-wide records. He holds the all-time NBA record for triple-doubles with 209. Only three players in history have averaged a triple-double for a full season: Oscar Robertson, Nikola Jokic, and Westbrook. Westbrook achieved that mark in four separate seasons.
Despite his statistical dominance and individual accolades, Westbrook never won an NBA championship. The jersey retirement will serve as the final formal recognition from the organization that drafted him. The number 0 will no longer be available for use by any player on the Thunder roster.
