Amid one of the darkest times in franchise history, the Oklahoma City Thunder ripped apart the clouds to show a glimmer of sunshine. Sam Presti delivered Russell Westbrook the highest honor an NBA legend can receive. They will retire his No. 0 jersey on Sunday, Feb. 7, against the New York Knicks.
This felt inevitable. Now, we have a set date. Westbrook announced his NBA retirement this past summer. He played an epic 18 seasons in the league from 2008-26. The first 11 were with the Thunder — which were his best both as an individual and as a team.
Westbrook is an era-defining NBA superstar of the 2010s. He was a one-time MVP winner, set the all-time triple-double record and was a perennial All-Star and All-NBA member in OKC. He also co-starred
— alongside Kevin Durant — on their first title contender. Sure, they never brought home a ring, but they had several deep playoff runs in their time together.
The Thunder and Westbrook are forever synonymous. He's their first true NBA superstar that they fully loved. Any time he was in OKC as the opponent, the entire crowd showered him with cheers and praise. That's why his eventual jersey retirement was a no-brainer. And something Presti hinted at in his 2026-27 preseason press conference.
Announcing it at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum for his Oklahoma Standard Award, Presti spent a dozen minutes giving a riveting speech on Westbrook's time in OKC. As you can expect, emotions flooded both of their usually-stoic and calculated faces.
You can watch Presti's full speech below. There are plenty of Easter eggs in it that the biggest Westbrook historians will absolutely love to see. If emotions were this high on just the simple announcement, imagine what it'll be like before the Thunder take on the Knicks for NBC's Sunday Night Basketball:
Sam Presti’s full Russell Westbrook introduction speech is a must watch.
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) November 2, 2026
“I only have a few moments to introduce Russell.
So in honor of Russ’s relationship with the media, I will be very, very brief.” pic.twitter.com/CqeHKzDRWK
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Watch: Sam Presti delivers speech over Russell Westbrook's time on OKC Thunder
