After Russell Westbrook announced his retirement from the NBA, the entire sports world has brought a bouquet of flowers to commemorate his legendary career. The future Hall-of-Famer played in 18 seasons from 2008-26. He spent 11 seasons on the Oklahoma City Thunder. Most will remember Westbrook for his time on the Thunder. That's where he blossomed into an NBA superstar. He's one of the era-defining stars of the 2010s. His resume speaks for itself — the 2016-17 MVP winner, nine-time All-Star, nine-time All-NBA member, two scoring titles and three assist titles. The accolades don't just stop at the individual level, either. Alongside Kevin Durant, Westbrook co-starred in OKC's first title contender. They never brought home a Larry O'Brien trophy, but had one NBA Finals and four Western Conference Finals appearances. Pretty good for an NBA superstar duo. They helped put the Thunder on the NBA map. Players from across the NBA have wished Westbrook a happy retirement. One of the more notable guys? Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The two-time MVP winner returned from a five-year sabbatical on X, formerly known as Twitter. He wished his fellow Thunder legend the best in his post-playing life. "A real OKC legend forever. Congrats on an amazing career brother," Gilgeous-Alexander wrote. "Appreciate your contributions to the game." Of course, about every Thunder fan has Gilgeous-Alexander and Westbrook as the top two players in franchise history. Usually in that order, too. The former has a more stacked resume — both in terms of trophies and a ring — but the latter has video-game-esque stats to back up his status as an all-time great. He owns OKC's records for most career points and assists. He's also the all-time triple-double leader. It's cool to see Gilgeous-Alexander pay tribute to Westbrook's legendary career. They'll forever be linked together because of their respective time and accomplishments on the Thunder — even if they never overlapped as teammates.
A real OKC legend forever. Congrats on an amazing career brother . Appreciate your contributions to the game https://t.co/FI74GMWwdG — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (@shaiglalex) August 13, 2026 This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reacts to Russell Westbrook's retirement: 'OKC legend'