Gathering online signatures, you can find a group of folks who want the Oklahoma City Thunder to bring back Russell Westbrook. The 36-year-old remains unsigned as training camp nears. There’s a serious chance he’s not on an NBA roster when the 2025-26 regular season starts.

While the Thunder bringing back Westbrook logistically and practically makes no sense, the act of an online petition symbolizes the deep relationship between both parties. Even after six years since he was traded, both sides remain synonymous.

The Thunder may have won an NBA championship and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may have usurped him as the greatest player in franchise history, but that doesn’t discredit the connection between both sides. Everybody agrees that his No. 0 will be retired. Most think he should also get a statue built outside of the new OKC arena.

In his 11 seasons with the Thunder, Westbrook was the co-star of a title contender. They never brought home the Larry O’Brien trophy, but an NBA Finals appearance and four Western Conference Finals trips highlighted a successful era any other fanbase would gladly trade spots with.

Westbrook turned into a future Hall of Fame member on the Thunder. He was a perennial All-Star and All-NBA member. He won a pair of scoring titles and an MVP award. He also took the ‘Mr. Triple Double’ moniker away from Oscar Robertson.

For as polarizing as he is, there’s no doubt that Westbrook was in the conversation for the league’s best player at his peak. He may have declined sharper than his counterparts, but along with Stephen Curry and Chris Paul, they defined the 2010s NBA point guards.

To show his love for the OKC community, Westbrook recently invested back in their sports scene. His foundation donated $10 million to help build an OKC soccer stadium in Nov. 2024. The partnership’s goal is to refurbish the professional soccer scene in OKC. It hopes to build a world-class stadium and entertainment district. The goal is to make downtown OKC a hot destination for film and television production.

At his 2025-26 preseason press conference, you always hear Thunder general manager Sam Presti address a wide variety of topics in his two-hour marathon. One was about Westbrook and his continued support of OKC despite being five teams removed from his time on the Thunder.

“Sports in a small market like this transcends in a lot of ways, and I think the players have such great opportunity to have influence and impact, because of the mindset of the city and its aspirations, the thought leaders in the city and their aspirations, but also because of the fact that we’re only 18 years in,” Presti said. “So it’s a very fertile ground for our athletes to take on roles after they play, even if they’re not calling this their home.”

The Westbrook anecdote helped Presti make his broader point that NBA players who suit up for the Thunder feel a different connection to their fanbase than on the other teams they’ve played for. Isaiah Hartenstein might only be in OKC for two seasons, but he penciled his name onto its lore with his contributions to their championship run and his habitual community involvement.

The Thunder have experienced unprecedented success in their short history since their relocation in 2008. It seems like the fans are at least aware of that. You don’t usually see small-market teams be one of the winningest teams for nearly two decades. That’s what happens when you roster three MVP winners in 11 years.

“Russell obviously had a good experience here and wants to be part of that. I’m really, really happy about that. I think it’s smart for whoever — for the people that are doing that to have him involved,” Presti said. “But it will set him up well for other probably endeavors like this whenever he finishes playing.”