Sam Presti surprising Russell Westbrook live on stage at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum luncheon with the announcement of his jersey retirement
awesome. Thank you for posting. Is there an official video out there?
Not that I’ve seen, pulled this right from Twitter. In somebody else’s video of this Presti said something along the lines of thinking it’d be special if the people in that room were the first to know.
I’d fuckin hope so since Russ was in the room and seemed surprised
That’s incredibly sweet and of course well-deserved
Couldn’t agree more. When I think of Thunder, Russ is the first player that comes to my mind. For better or for worse, Russ was unapologetically himself on the court. One of the most electrifying players during his prime.
He certainly had his flaws, I’m not even a Thunder fan, but he is one of my all time favorite players. He was electric to watch in his prime. Absolute force of nature
Yeah, him and Rose were my must watch if they were on and not the Heat. Just too fun not to watch!
:( That rose team got me into watching basketball
His MVP season was the most fun to ever watch. Just pure joy on the court
Why does it feel like these comments are made by bots?
But yeah, very Pikachu of him for being so electric.
I’d put Nick Collison up there with him too. Speaking of did they ever retire his jersey?
He’s the only Thunder to have been retired (2019). Elite company.
Had to look this up for myself because I was convinced this was a meme
Made me a fan because of that. He personifies electrifying.
Him and Steven Adams for some reason.
He always did what he want.
The dumbass Ramon Sessions foul into Russ making the and 1 with the crowd erupting is one of my first NBA heartbreak moments, middle school me was so pissed. Insane highlight that I respect but always have to skip past lol
The most. By a considerable margin. The year when KD took the hardest roast to GSW he went nuts.
I just want to say I think Sam Presti and Russell Westbrook have an incredible relationship and it’s very sweet and wholesome ❤️
But yeah Russell Westbrook means everything to that thunder organization!! Very very well deserved!
HOF NEXT!
did you really need chat gpt or let me guess…claude to write this comment? jfc bub. gotta be among the dumbest i’ve seen in my 12 years of reddit. don’t respond to me.
What a weird fucking amount of negativity for such a benign comment that I typed out in 5 seconds
Don’t accuse me of being a bot when, unlike your chicken ass, my post and comment history is open lol
couldn’t help but respond huh bubba? i dont caer for the notificashins.
Sounds like you’re avoiding dealing with something IRL and taking it out on Reddit comments instead
Damn you can tell how much it really means to Russ, Such a privilege to get to watch him in his prime. One of the most unique players of all time 🥲
It’s crazy to think about how important jersey retirements are. Not just former MVPs, Finals MVPs, which are legendary in their own right. You’re forever a legend for that franchise, our kids will look up at those jerseys of the past and ask us about those players and we get to talk about them with fondness and reverence for that they did for our teams. It’s really amazing.
I’ve learned about some of the old Mavs players from seeing their jerseys in the rafters and going home and watching highlights. Shoutout Rolando Blackman who I found this way
To fans that are watching, maybe the only meaningful accolades are achievements like MVP or Champ. For the players that have lived their lives there, worked with the community, played through sweat and blood, all these thoughtful “little” things (even a video tribute) are meaningful and special.
Every time my dad and I go to a game he tells me about Brad Davis. He likes to say “he wasn’t that good but we didn’t have a lot of good players, so it made sense back then.”
What whatever reason I thought you are talking about Renaldo Balkman (who never played for the Mavs) and laughed
It’s going to suck for KD. He might act like he doesn’t care about no team retiring his jersey now but when he’s like 50+ he’ll be bitter
Didn’t the Warriors say they were going to?
He’s already bitter.
The warriors will retire his number, no?
They already said that they are. He will probably get a statue there too tbh.
That’s how I learned about Cavs legend Nate Thurmond.
Do they have the Sonics numbers hanging up? Because i think that’s a low blow to Seattle if so
Seattle retained all history
No. All retired jerseys. Championship trophy etc stayed in Seattle.
As a lifelong fan of the Sonics, they actually have way too many jersey numbers retired. I just looked it up, 6 jerseys and a microphone. It is too many.
We retired a microphone?
He’s also a really sentimental dude in general.
I feel like jersey retirement is the biggest honor in all of the sports industry,
Really wish the nuggets would’ve brought him back. I’ve never seen a player be able to completely change the intensity of the game and of his entire team like Westbrook. Dudes energy was contagious and he could get the crowd fired up like no other.
And we dropped him for washed Bruce Brown.
you are absolutely right
I think the reason Russ gets so much hate is because of how much we all fell in love with him in OKC, particularly after KD left. He was my favorite player and watching the rest of his career after that was beyond disappointing and so frustrating as a fan. I hated Lakers Russ about as much as I loved OKC Russ. Now that he’s done, it’s great to look back at his time in OKC and I’m grateful to have watched his career and style of play despite the lack of post season success
This sub mostly hated on him even in OKC
Yeah and to be fair I can understand why he is polarizing. The hate was too much though.
Brodie for life
Russ deserves every bit of this. He stood when everyone left and was an outstanding representative of Oklahoma. My only wish is that he could’ve gotten a ring. This dude balled hard!
well, everyone didn’t really leave. just kd.
Ibaka left after harden was traded, KD left, and a lot of the support cast that was there. Harden didn’t seem like it was his choice. But after KD everyone else seemed fine rolling on
Ibaka was traded
and Harden. I think he is referring to the thunder big 3 breaking up.
Gotta wonder which pose they’ll choose for his statue.
And-1 against Lakers in the 2012 playoffs
for those that don’t knowhttps://youtube.com/shorts/atW6mFwm54E?si=UTeb2kLBFuZf9EE3
That’s sick, thanks for the link
He was a maniac that series 😭
We were convinced Ramon Sessions was our savior 🤣
What years of derek “should have retired by now” fisher will do to a fan base
Has to be this. Such an iconic Russ moment and the statement that the Thunder were “here.”
This and the Nuggets 3 are pretty much the only options
Awesome…and painful moment
This is the way
Rock-a-baby
Rock a baby with a tiny Kevin Durant in his arms
It’s either a rock the baby or a one handed slam, as a follower of another team that’s what I imagine Russ doing, so I kind of feel like that’s the highest frequency that even I managed to see
Has to be a thunderous slam.
Peak Westbrook made giannis feel a lil soft
Legit. I picture a one-handed dunk taking off casually one step inside the free throw line and soaring.
They won’t do it but it’d be cool to have a “flying” statue of some sort.
Like significantly higher than the usual ones.
I mean Shaq’s statue is him off the ground doing a two-handed slam, it can be done. Idk how high you were talking about though
There’s a large open glass atrium around the concourse of the new Continental Coliseum, imagine they suspend an airborne statue up there like they do whale skeletons at museums/aquariums, a pose like this.
I feel like he usually 2 handed tho
The alley oop against the Kings was nasty
Giannis has power, Russ had violence.
My vote
Gotta be this one
In action poses are cool but rocking the baby or flexing to the crowd after a big play would feel so Russ.
Either
The shouting pose before start of games.
Pointing up
Going for a dunk.
Or the Meme lmao.
I’d stay away from shouting, could end up looking like wades statue
I mean Wade one is fixed now.
It looks amazing, now. Was it the same artist just refurbishing it, or did they bring on someone new to fix it?
There’s a photo on google where he’s going for a dunk against the jazz. I think that one would be fire and sums up Westbrook perfectly
Honestly, there’s a lot of iconic moments to choose from, but the thing that I will always remember about Russ was the game against the Blazers where he takes a knee to the head that left a dent in his face. AND HE FINISHED THE GAME WITH A GODDAMNED DENT IN HIS FACE. I don’t think I will ever watch someone that had his drive. So that’s what I’d pick for the statue.
I still can’t believe he’s retired 🥲 well deserved
He was part of the first generation of players that are around my age. It really makes me feel old to see them retire.
LeBron is three weeks older than me. Still young baby!
We’ll still be astronauts and fulfill our dreams someday.
Im exactly the same age as AD and watching him be slightly washed is sad
Deserved. Congrats Russ. Was never a direct ‘fan’ of your teams but year in, year out you made it impossible not to cheer for you.
I’m gonna cry like a baby that day
Presti is about to cry just announcing it
Thats gonna be me with derozan
Unfortunately won’t happen crodie
The most beloved player in franchise history? Definitely going to happen.
DeMar changed his name to Kyle Lowry?
Even tho his time for us wasn’t that great, I still love the man. Such a good dude
isn’t it rumored or something that him and drakes falling out means he’ll never have his jersey retired
Drakes a goof
Shit, I teared up just from this video clip. Lol
Crying rn seeing my goats on stage
I’ve really come around to Westbrook post Warriors/Thunder beef, his highlight reel is as good as anyone in basketball history and he’s a great person, absolutely earned the praise
I feel the same about Steph, he’s a great watch now. Enough time has passed that I can appreciate all the players for their greatness… except KD, that one’s gonna need a lot more time
He’s burned pretty much every bridge he had, even with us when we were the only fanbase that actively liked him for about a decade
I would rate the KD to Russ alley oop in this video as one of my favorite dunks of all time
Second might be Andrew Wiggins randomly deciding to actually murder Luca a few years back
I forgot about that Wiggins dunk, what a great pull.
KD and Westbrook were such a great duo
That’s the closest oop to the Vince Carter Clippers oop I’ve seen.
Vince Carter - Best Alley-oop Dunk Of All Time (Mar 08, 2000)
I was surprised to see that Russ has a winning record against Curry for their career (RS+PO combined).
They met only once in the playoffs… we know that part of the story.
I never liked Russ but I love Russ.
What an exciting player man. He probably has so many players that looked up to him and want to be a clone of him, but his rebounding and athleticism is truly a gift that you just can’t recreate
Congrats Brodie!! Well deserved! Got nothing but love for West.
Game recognize game.
I could never hate this dude. Man was all heart
Greatest thunder, despite not being the best player to wear a thunder jersey, yet still deserved
Sam getting choked up is heartwarming
That man can still play. Bring Brodie back
Would be a mistake for Russ to come back. He got to go out on his terms and got a ton of praise following his retirement announcement.
He retired on his own terms, let the man rest
This season is shot and it would be 100% amazing to bring him back for one year.
It’s not shot, but bringing Russ back would finish it off for sure. I absolutely love Russ, which is why I’d hate to see us do something that dumb. I’d love to hear where you guys think Russ is gonna fit in this offense lol.
I’m not the biggest Russ fan. I actually hated the fact he tried to blame the Lakers and Lakers fans for his horrible play but him running the second unit and feeding Mara wouldn’t hurt.
I mean vibes. Just having him on the bench smiling and having fun. Udonis last season he didn’t do anyting but have great locker room vibes.
Having Russ would just bring everyone’s spirit up and if you’re down by 20 with 2 min left, let our boy run.
Now everyone acts like they loved Russ all along. I’ve been defending him for over a decade on this site.
Exactly, where was this praise when he was averaging triple doubles?
Sometimes we mature and can look back on a nearly 20 year career without fandom getting in the way.
Very true, well said
Youre right
No one hates russ as a person and as a player on okc especially. It’s the seasons after that when he was on other teams that people disliked him as a player. I’m not going to switch up and act like russ never made incredibly low IQ plays even as an experienced nba player just because he’s getting his jersey deservedly retired
Russ got hate since the early 2010s, even before his prime. It was a common view that he was to blame for all the Thunder’s shortcomings. I dont know what league you were following.
Bullshit. Most of reddit cried when Harden didn’t win MVP over him and called him a stat padder nonstop.
The whole “Westbrick” thing was in 2012
I am with you, as a non-thunder fan. He has been one of my favorite players ever his whole career. Never said a negative word
I dont. Not a westbrook fan.
My favorite non-Nugget of all time and so happy he got to play for us even in a twilight of his career.
He wasn’t the most efficient or always made the right play, but he always put 100% into the play he made. You rarely ever, if ever, saw him give up on something.
I mean… he was a Nugget lol.
He was my favorite before he was a Nugget tho. We got him way past his prime so it doesn’t feel like we got the real him. Idk how to convey those feelings.
Lol KD wishes he could have this kinda love from a franchise
Ain’t many players who have earned this more than Russ in recent memory, one of the more likable stars in league history if you ask me.
Players Being Surprised by Jersey Retirement has sneakily become one of my favorite genres of video
That’s so badass. Totally deserved
my favorite player! always played with a DAWG in him. big respect for Russell Westbrook
His power dunks during OKC when he had super young legs were DIABOLIC
Kudos to Sam Presti and the Thunder Org!! Shows their class and excellence 🫡
Kinda warms your heart, doesn’t it?
Happy for him!
Well deserved! Remember watching his triple doubles as a kid & just was amazed.
And he even did it on Russell Westbrook Day. How poetic.
Beyond deserved for an amazing person and basketball player. The amount of appreciation I have for Russ will never be overstated. He is OKC.
what a sweet and thoughtful way to go about letting him know:’) so happy for Russ
His game didn’t age gracefully, but he normalized the triple double and was fun to watch.
I didn’t like how things ended for him the last few years and love to see this.
Collect your flowers bro, you deserve every single one.