Russ is the reason the Thunder have a ring

He convinced PG to go there

And got him to re-sign which ended up so the Thunder could get assets when they traded him

He also got a haul on his own.

Westbrook still ahead of SGA in my book in this context.

Even a ship can’t put out the fire that Russ started, dude kept the whole state on his back. I’ll never forget.

Damn this dude a fan since last year

As much as I hate on Shai, 1 ring > 0 rings

Russ was thunder basketball before shai came here, he’s getting a statue

He’s their all time leader in points, rebounds and assists. He probably will get a statue.

The people of OKC love him and what he’s done for the city. I wouldn’t be surprised if they made a statue for him

It’s a statue, Michael. How much can it really cost?

• 10 years
• 9x all star - 2x all NBA first team
• 2x scoring champ
• franchise leader in points scored

You act like it’s a low bar just because he didn’t win a ring there.

Even if it is, wdgaf. I don’t know a single OKC fan who isn’t positively for it. Westbrook is our ride or die. If he doesn’t get a statue in OKC, no one should tbh.

And yes, we know he can’t shoot. Still don’t care.

it’s just a statue, it’s not like it’s a Finals MVP award. there’s no official rules for who gets a statue you can literally just make one for any reason. my city has a statue of a gnome holding a giant buttplug. OKC clearly loves Russ so why not?

Also an 8 x all star and 8x all nba and future hall of famer. He was there from day 1. Of course he’s getting a statue

John Stockton has a statue in Utah with zero MVPs and Dominique Wilkins has a statue in Atlanta with zero MVPs and zero Finals appearances.

The bar for statues is similar to the bar for jersey retirements in that it’s dependent on the team and community. It’s not the same everywhere.

Teams can honor any players they wish to honor. Input from outsiders is not necessary

How many MVPs don’t have statues?

They retired Nick Collison’s jersey. OKC is a weird place

I’ll never forget that crazy comeback him and Beal had against the Nets. Such a random but fun game to watch as a neutral

He averaged like 24/12/11 and went on a totally insane run after Beal went down that included at least one 20/20/20 game. Prime Russ was a crazy floor raiser.

I’d love to have him back. He’s a great vet for the young guys leading by example with his effort, plus he’s still a very good playmaker to help the young guys develop. A huge mistake rebuilding teams make is they just don’t have a point guard and if you can’t get the ball into developing players hands they’re gonna get overwhelmed and develop bad scoring habits.

I’m speaking for myself here. I love Shai. He’s an incredible player. He brought my city its first championship. He’s my second favorite Thunder ever.

Russ made me fall in love with basketball. I grew up a wrestler, so basketball wasn’t really a thing for me. OKC gets the thunder, Russ too. The dude detonated at the rim on a nightly basis, had a butter mid range before the hand injuries, and always brought the heat no matter what.

That stadium had better have a Russ statue, or I riot, just me, but it’s something

I think a lot of fans would say SGA is the best player/MVP and will have the most impressive legacy, but Russ will always be GOAT and King of the Prairie.

Probably an age gap and what people value. SGA is the man, but Russ is literally the Thunder. He’s Zeus. Like that MVP season and where he consistently willed shitty teams into the playoffs after KD left, that basically solidified him here no matter what.d Loyalty is HUGE in small town markets for fans.

It’s like how I’d imagine Wolves fans with Garnett vs Ant or Portland and Lillard vs Roy (though Lillard gets the nod obviously now)

SGA is #1 but Russ is King of the Prairie. Hope this helps.

They’re 1A and 1B at this point

Shai is 1A for me. Can’t replace the joy he brought with the ring and what that meant for the city

Depends on who you are tbh. Most fans try to discredit that championship because of injuries. I don’t. But loads do. Everyone hates the Thunder but its fans. It’s a weird thing to get used to.

No. He’s here multiple times a year. Him and his wife both own businesses here. And also have sponsored art districts, among many other projects. Please shut the fuck up and go back to being miserable in quiet. Thanks.

Yo you’re onto something

We’re the Good Luck Chuck of the NBA

We might actually need someone that’s gonna get blocked at the rim regardless but still goes into Wemby’s chest with reckless abandon

Nevermind

If you want the first overall pick, you trade for AD then trade him away next season.

I’ve been telling people this. Russ has a knack for pulling dawgs out of people. Chet would be no different.

Why did this make me laugh out loud?

I could be wrong. There’s an old industrial park where the cotton mill used to be along the old railroad that used to take cotton from SW Oklahoma. Pretty sure that’s where it is, downtown is West of brick town

well done

Whos that

Bilbo says “win, lose, or draw, let’s just have fun out there.” The other twelve hobbits stare at him in disgust. Gandalf just shakes his head. 

Never happening to my GOAT

Rich coming from a lakers fan

Blue states are too progressive and hence the worst nimby. Blue cities in red statws are yimby of late

or places with bigger markets and his literal hometown