With the 2026-27 regular season right around the corner, the Oklahoma City Thunder enter the year as a popular title pick. Even after their summer of cost-cutting moves, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams remain one of the most successful and decorated trios in the league.
The Thunder had a league-best 64-18 this past regular season. But fell short of their back-to-back ambitions in the 2026 Western Conference Finals. Injuries played a large part in that. But that's in the past. Can't change anything about it now.
Now that the offseason is behind us and we're looking ahead to another nine-month marathon, let's rewind on OKC's biggest moves and preview what most folks believe the Thunder will do this upcoming year.
To get
ready for the upcoming season, Thunder Wire conducted a 16-question fan survey. A total of 1,145 Thunder fans participated. Not every question was answered, though. The response totals for each question can be seen in the top-left corner of the pie charts.
One question was about Russell Westbrook's NBA retirement. The future Hall-of-Famer called it a career this summer after a legendary 18 seasons. Of course, most remember him for his first 11 seasons. That's when he played for the Thunder. Most fans believe he should get his No. 0 jersey retired this upcoming season. Why wait?
It's more a question of when, not if, Westbrook gets his jersey retired by the Thunder. And most OKC fans want it to happen this upcoming season — which is totally feasible. For what it's worth, I think it should happen this upcoming year. Strike while the iron is hot, as the polarizing triple-double machine is universally loved for the first time in his NBA days.
For reference, Nick Collison retired after the 2017-18 season. He had his No. 4 retired the following season. So there's precedent for the Thunder having a quick turnaround in that type of ceremony. Even league-wide, it happens pretty quickly. Look at Kyle Lowry and the Toronto Raptors this summer.
Westbrook is one of the era-defining NBA superstars of the 2010s. Alongside Kevin Durant, he co-starred on OKC's first title contender. He's a one-time MVP winner who was a perennial All-Star at the peak of his powers. Even if he never won a championship ring, he's one of the best players of all time.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: 2026 OKC Thunder fan survey results: Russell Westbrook ceremony must happen soon
