With the NBA season suspended, NBA players find themselves looking at their calendars and thinking about what could have been. Had the league not been forced to halt play, we would be preparing for the second weekend of the playoffs.
Instead, all we have are memories. And for former Thunder franchise pillar Russell Westbrook, Tuesday would probably be a bitter one.
Last season, on April 23, to be exact, Damian Lillard hit the shot that would prove to end Westbrook’s career as a member of the Thunder. But two nights prior, on April 21, the Thunder floundered down the stretch against Portland and lost Game 4 of their playoff series. That put Westbrook’s team in a 3-1 hole that they, obviously, weren’t able to climb out.
On that day in Thunder history — in what would be his final home game as a member of the franchise — Westbrook turned in just 14 points on 5-for-21 shooting from the field. Beginning the game by hitting five of his first 11 shots, Westbrook missed his final 10 attempts as Damian Lillard got cooking in the game’s second half and helped Portland steal a 111-98 decision.
Paul George — who also played his final home game for the Thunder that night — ended up with 32 points and 11 rebounds. Still, neither would prove able to help the Thunder bring the series back to Chesapeake Energy Arena for a Game 6, as Portland would go on to defeat the Thunder in Game 5 by a final score of 118-115.
Obviously, it’s a bittersweet memory for the both Westbrook and Oklahoma City, so here’s to hoping that soon, play will resume and we’ll have the opportunity to remember better times.
As fate would have it, news broke that Westbrook would be traded to the Houston Rockets on July 11, just five days after George was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.
In exchange, the Thunder received a bevy of future draft considerations, as well as Chris Paul, Shai Gilgerous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari.
At this point, it’s entirely possible that this story could have a happy ending.