Houston Rockets guard Russell Westbrook shouts to the crowd before the team's NBA basketball game ... [+]
The game Oklahoma City Thunder fans had been anticipating all season — the return of Russell Westbrook to Oklahoma City at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. On the first nationally televised game of the entire season for the Thunder, the stage was set for Westbrook to make the emotional return.
It had been 182 days since his trade to Houston was officially announced by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. As if Westbrook’s homecoming wasn't enough of an NBA story, it was also just Chris Paul’s second time to face off against his former team in the Houston Rockets.
Westbrook was more than just a basketball player to Oklahomans. He was a celebrity, an icon, and a role model to many.
On the court, he was excellent. Drafted No. 4 overall in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Seattle Supersonics, the team would move to Oklahoma City just six days later. Among active players, Russell Westbrook was the longest tenured with one team prior to the trade to Houston. In fact, he had been with the team for every single game in the history of the franchise prior to the 2019-20 season.
In his his eleven year career with the Thunder, his career averages of 23.0 points, 8.4 assists, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game were among the most impressive of anyone during that span. He appeared in 821 games for Oklahoma City, earning eight NBA All-Star appearances, eight All-NBA honors, two scoring titles, and led the league in assists twice. His former teammate Kendrick Perkins went to Twitter prior to the return of Westbrook to point out exactly how great he was during his tenure in Oklahoma City.
As the Houston Rockets bus pulled up to the Chesapeake Energy Arena, an overwhelming amount of media members crowded the stadium’s tunnels in anticipation for Westbrook once again walking from the bus to the locker room. However this time, for the first time ever, to the visiting locker room.
Westbrook immediately changed and walked onto the court he had played on so many times before to warm up. He was the first member of the Houston Rockets to take the floor, well before doors were even open to the public.
By the time the arena was indeed opened to fans, Westbrook had already finished warming up. Regardless, within minutes of doors opening, fans started to flood the arena, congregating around the openings of the tunnels heading to the locker rooms. Within 30 minutes, hundreds of Russell Westbrook fans were gathered in the lower concourse of the arena.
With just minutes until tipoff, there was a certain energy amongst fans that is hard to describe. For many, this would be a conflicting game. While loyal to their hometown Thunder, they also hoped the guy they cheered on for over a decade would have a great game himself.
During the time that the visiting team’s starting lineup would typically be announced, the lights went off and Westbrook’s tribute video played for nearly two minutes. The arena was electric, in fact it was so loud that the dialogue associated with the video was difficult to hear.
After the playing of the video that was filled with Russell Westbrook highlights and memories, he got the introduction that he had received at hundreds of home games prior: “Starting at guard, 6-foot-3 from UCLA...”.
You could feel the chills throughout the arena. The introduction that will be forever engrained in the heads of Thunder fans was repeated one final time. The Chesapeake Energy Arena erupted - one of the loudest moments I had ever heard in that venue.
Westbrook looked extremely happy, smiling and pumping up the crowd, returning the overwhelming love and energy they were giving him. When asked about his thoughts about the tribute video Westbrook said, “It’s special. It is a very special thing that meant a lot to me honestly. Coming back here and just making me feel like I was very, very appreciated and I appreciate it a lot”.
The crowd then started “MVP” chants for Westbrook, followed by him doing his old pre-tip routine, running to the corner of the court to greet the crowd for one last loud roar.
To start the game, as many expected, Westbrook came out came out firing. He went 4-8 in first quarter (most field goal attempts of any player) for nine points, but Thunder were up 16 and controlled whole quarter. He would finish the first half with 18 points, including 16 in the paint as he bullied smaller defenders — and even ‘rocked the baby’.
By the end of third quarter, the game was essentially over. Down by 22, Westbrook was up to 30 points on 24 shots. Ultimately, he would not play a large portion of the fourth quarter due to the game being out of reach, but finished leading all scorers with 34 points (14-26 from the field), two rebounds, and five assists.
During timeouts you could see Westbrook interacting with fans, continuing to show his thanks for the support through all of the years and even now.
After the game, Westbrook was extremely candid in his thoughts on his time in Oklahoma City. “I don’t regret signing back. I don’t regret staying here. I don’t regret anything. I feel like I left everything out on the floor every single night and did what I could for the city”. He would later go on to say, “The organization, Sam, Mr. Bennett, they do an amazing job of just making you feel at home, and I feel like I was at home”.
On one of the most special nights in Oklahoma City Thunder history, Russell Westbrook put on a show. It was truly a night that will never be forgotten by Oklahomans.
