OKLAHOMA CITY — In addressing former Oklahoma City Thunder Russell Westbrook's retirement from the NBA for the first time, head coach Mark Daigneault reflected on the future Hall of Fame guard's basketball legacy. Thunder GM Sam Presti announced the organization will honor Westbrook at some point during the 2026-27 season.
Amidst training camp, Daingeault discussed why Westbrook's illustrious career is unforgettable from an NBA standpoint, in addition to what he means to Oklahoma City.
“Congrats to him on an unbelievable first-ballot career. He's, obviously, one of the giants of the game — not only in Oklahoma City — in the history of the league,” Daigneault said. “He brought a particular spirit to the game. And fearlessness and competitiveness that made it very easy to gravitate to him, and obviously, this city did. And he reciprocated. He's an unbelievable member of the community, even to this day. He's doing great work in the Oklahoma City community.
Article Continues Below“Special player. Special guy. Congratulations again to him. And the last thing I'll say is, when you got guys that are of his caliber that have passed through the organization, there's a certain standard that they set that when new players come in, they feel an obligation to live up to. And that's what the great organizations have. And great organizations are built on great players.”
Although Mark Daigneault took over as Thunder head coach in 2020, he was an assistant coach with the organization from 2016 to 2019. Russell Westbrook, who played his first 11 seasons after the Thunder selected him fourth overall in 2008, is Oklahoma City's all-time leading scorer with 18,859 points.