On this day in Oklahoma City Thunder history, the team announced that Russell Westbrook would officially miss the remainder of the 2013 NBA playoffs due to right meniscus repair surgery.
Westbrook tore his meniscus in Game 2 of the team’s first-round series matchup against the Houston Rockets off of a Patrick Beverley steal attempt. Westbrook was signaling for a timeout before Beverley reached for the ball and banged knees. Westbrook was in clear pain afterward as he hobbled around for a bit before finishing the game playing with a torn meniscus.
The first seeded Thunder, who was fresh off of an NBA Finals appearance, had championship aspirations before the injury. The Thunder would manage to defeat the Rockets in six games before succumbing to the Memphis Grizzlies in the second round in five games.
Westbrook would spend the rest of his career dealing with knee problems and would require semi-regular knee scopes in the offseason.
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