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<\/a>OKLAHOMA CITY \u2014<\/p>\nRussell Westbrook, one of the Oklahoma City Thunder\u2019s greatest players, spent 11 of his 18 NBA seasons with the team, leaving a legacy that extends far beyond basketball. <\/p>\n
There was a time here in Oklahoma City when it felt like he put the whole franchise on his back when Kevin Durant left the Thunder, but then in the years that followed, you could argue he tried to put the whole city on his back.<\/p>\n
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt reflected on Westbrook\u2019s journey with the Thunder, starting with his first season in 2008 and his growth over the years, including the emotional boost he gave the community by re-signing with the team after Durant\u2019s departure. <\/p>\n
\u201cRussell re-signed with us shortly after, which was kind of an important emotional boost for the community,\u201d Holt said. <\/p>\n
WATCH: Russell Westbrook\u2019s community impact in Oklahoma City<\/p>\n
Westbrook\u2019s standout performance during the 2016-2017 season earned him the MVP title and further solidified his place in basketball history. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then for that to be answered by one of the greatest individual seasons in basketball history, even though we didn\u2019t go far in the playoffs, it seemed secondary to the fact that we got to watch something so special that it vaulted him into the MVP,\u201d Holt said. <\/p>\n
Holt also noted how Westbrook became synonymous with Oklahoma City during his time with the Thunder, as the metro area gained national attention and grew by 94,000 people between 2008 and 2018. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe did get that moment to be the guy on the team. And what did he do with it? He immediately became the MVP of the NBA,\u201d Holt said. <\/p>\n
Westbrook\u2019s impact extended beyond the court. In 2013, after suffering a knee injury, he visited Moore to support families affected by the devastating 2013 tornado. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe smiles on people\u2019s faces, I think that\u2019s a big thing from the last few days because people are really sad in different families,\u201d Westbrook said at the time. <\/p>\n
WATCH: Looking back at Russell Westbrook\u2019s storied career in OKC<\/p>\n
His community contributions include \u201cRussell\u2019s Reading Rooms,\u201d which remain in schools across the city, and the court at Capitol Hill that he dedicated after leaving the Thunder. <\/p>\n
\u201cRussell\u2019s Reading Rooms, they\u2019re still all over the city in many of our schools, other things like the court at Capitol Hill, the footstall court that he actually dedicated after he was gone,\u201d Holt said. <\/p>\n
Westbrook also founded the \u201cWhy Not? Foundation,\u201d a nonprofit focused on helping underserved communities and children with education, workforce development, and mental health resources. <\/p>\n
WATCH: Russell Westbrook returns to his \u201csecond home\u201d for OKC stadium groundbreaking<\/p>\n
Westbrook was back in Oklahoma City in June for the groundbreaking of a new multi-purpose soccer and UFL stadium south of Bricktown. Holt said Westbrook\u2019s investment in the soccer team, OKC United, and the stadium development will play a significant role in the city\u2019s future. <\/p>\n
\u201cWith the soccer team, this is an exciting moment for his investment, and he\u2019s a part of the soccer team and the development. That\u2019s something that\u2019s going to play out for a decade,\u201d Holt said. <\/p>\n
While Westbrook\u2019s exact retirement plans remain unclear, it is expected that he will continue to be involved in Oklahoma City as an investor in OKC United.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Russell Westbrook\u2019s legacy in Oklahoma City goes beyond basketball Russell Westbrook, a former Oklahoma City Thunder star, left…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":811842,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[355,99],"class_list":["post-811841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=811841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/811842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=811841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=811841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=811841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}