The Oklahoma City Thunder‘s season came to an abrupt end last month, and with that, the team got to focus all of its efforts on how to convince Paul George to sign a new contract this offseason. But as it turns out, the end of their season meant that longtime big an Nick Collison would call it a career.
Collison has been in the league since 2003 and spent his entire career with the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder. He’s 37 and only appeared in 15 games this season, so it makes sense that the Thunder’s grizzled, beloved veteran would retire.
With the longevity of his career, Collison has been there for the final days of the Sonics and the entire time the Thunder have existed. He’s also been a teammate for Russell Westbrook for all of the former MVP’s career, so it makes sense that The Oklahoman would want to know if Westbrook had anything to say about Collison. Westbrook responded thusly:
The Oklahoman requested via the Thunder a statement from Russell Westbrook about Nick Collison’s retirement. This is that statement (edited for content): “F****** LEGEND!!!”
— Brett Dawson (@BDawsonWrites) May 11, 2018
Collison, in addition to being such an integral part of the franchise that he’s nicknamed “Mr. Thunder,” has been the one constant teammate throughout Westbrook’s career. It’s no surprise that Russ issued such a positive statement about Collison’s legacy, even if he did it in the most Russell Westbrook way imaginable.
