It's not being retired for his awesome stats or HOF career.
It's being retired because he's known as "Mr. Thunder". He was with the Sonics and moved here, and spent his entire career here.
His blue collar work ethic from day one made him a fan favorite. Collison was always ready to take a charge, or do the small "dirty work" that never finds it's way onto a stat sheet, but makes a difference to the team. Scrambling on the floor for a loose ball, making an extra pass etc. And it extended to his work in the community. If the Thunder had a community service event going on, Collison was the first one there, and then he did his own work on top of that.
So retiring his number is a recognition of Nick Collison, the man in full, not just the on-the-court part of his life. Probably no other team has ever done something like this, and probably no other team ever will. But it's a great thing to recognize a guy like Collison in this manner. Especially since he so epitomizes what the Thunder organization wants to be to the community here.
OKC Thunder. Like no other franchise ever.
That escalated quickly.
That was awful
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/1...ages-of-fandom
Yep.Russ’s game was nothing less than an attempt to overthrow the entire regime of basketball knowledge—to say, in effect, that one visitor from superhero dreamworld took precedence over values like “reliable efficacy” and “predicating actions on data” and “not basing your team’s entire season on the idea that you, personally, can transform into a hurricane.” But basketball knowledge exists for a reason, and you can’t kill the king partway. When everything was working perfectly, Westbrook seemed to afford us a glimpse of a higher basketball dimension. When it was only almost working, Westbrook’s play could look like inspired self-sabotage. He’d go for 38 points on 14-of-32 shooting in a four-point loss—and then show up after the game in his $5,000 beaver-print press-conference smock and cayenne librarian glasses and act like you were the alien for wondering what he was thinking.
...
Appreciating Russell Westbrook, in other words, requires the ability to synthesize more contradictions before breakfast than a Stephen Curry devotee may face over the course of a long and untroubled life. What’s fascinating these days, with Westbrook playing about as badly as he has in recent history, is how all the contradictions we’ve amassed over our long history with Russ seem to speak to and inform each other.
Enjoy your win tonight King.
Lakers - Lebron; + OKC 10.5 point favorites = OKC will be asleep tonight as the Lakers steal one they have no business winning on the road.
So you’re saying Kyle Kuzma is a lock for a DFS lineup tonight?
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