Russell Westbrook had one of the greatest individual seasons in NBA history, forever endearing himself with Oklahoma City Thunder fans as one of the best players to ever suit up for them, even though he requested a trade.
On paper, Russell Westbrook should not be the favorite player of Oklahoma City Thunder fans. Kevin Durant was always better, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won the team its first title last season.
However, Westbrook is still the fan favorite, and six years after requesting a trade and being sent to the Houston Rockets, he is still met with applause every time he goes back to Oklahoma City.
On July 16, 2019, the Thunder ended an era, trading Westbrook to the Rockets for Chris Paul, two first-round picks, and two pick swaps.
In 2016, Kevin Durant infamously signed with the Golden State Warriors, joining the greatest regular-season team ever.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Warriors had eliminated the Thunder in the postseason that year, so Durant was very much joining the enemy.
With Durant gone, Westbrook took over, becoming the first player since Oscar Robertson in 1962 to average a triple-double across an entire season.
His 31.6 points per game led the league, and he added 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists for good measure, winning the MVP award despite the Thunder finishing with the sixth-best record in the Western Conference.
Westbrook would go on to lead the Thunder to three straight playoff appearances without Durant, and, much to fans’ delight, was openly bitter towards Durant, an animosity that hasn’t entirely disappeared.
Westbrook finally requested a trade in 2019, and it was promptly granted, sending him to the Rockets. However, Westbrook did everything he could to keep OKC afloat, and he parted on good terms with the fanbase and organization.
In the summer of 2019, the Thunder parted ways with both Paul George and Westbrook, getting back, critically, Gilgeous-Alexander and Paul.
Initially expected to be at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, Paul remained an elite floor general and mentor, and SGA broke out as a star in the making. The Thunder would finish that season as the fifth seed, with the exact same record as the Rockets, who employed Westbrook and James Harden.
Houston would ultimately trade Westbrook to the Washington Wizards, and while Paul never won anything of note during his lone season in OKC, the year of mentorship set the Thunder up for their Finals run in 2025, a big step ahead of the Rockets, who have not even made the Finals since 1995.
