Ripping the ball away from Ivica Zubac, Russell Westbrook threw down a vicious breakaway dunk that was more than worth the technical foul he received as he hung on the rim and busted his vocal cords at the Denver crowd.
After a slow start, Westbrook provided the jolt of energy the Denver Nuggets needed to come away with a do-or-die 120-101 Game 7 win over the LA Clippers. The future Hall-of-Famer will now get a chance to continue his storybook playoff run when he faces the Oklahoma City Thunder.
As you know, Westbrook and the Thunder are tied at the hip. The 36-year-old spent his first 11 NBA seasons in OKC. He enjoyed his best years there on a title contender with several individual accolades like yearly All-Star nods and the 2017 MVP award.
Fast-forward five years after both sides mutually divorced, the Thunder must overcome their franchise leader in most stats if they want to win a championship. Meanwhile, Westbrook continues to chase his first ring and is now a prototypical Sixth Man scorer for the top-heavy Nuggets.
As Mark Daigneault gets to finally zero in on their Round 2 opponent, he said the first seed must be aware of how much Westbrook can disrupt the flow of a game — for better or worse. He cited his 29-point outburst in Denver’s Nov. win over OKC to hand it its first regular-season loss.
“He always brings great energy and competitiveness to the game. Especially when he’s off the bench, you have to account for the fact that he’s going to come into the game ready to rock,” Daigneault said. “The pace of the game is gonna go up and he’s gonna try to make something happen right off the bat and you can’t flat-foot him in that way.”
Addressing the elephant in the room, Westbrook’s playoff series against the Thunder will invoke all types of emotions. It’ll be bittersweet as the bond between the player and fanbase is in the same breath as Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat.
Expect Westbrook to get an ovation for Game 1. It’ll be his first playoff game at Paycom Center since he was traded in 2019. But for the Thunder, it’ll be business as usual. This is a new iteration of OKC. His only former teammates in the building will be Nick Collison in a suit and Eric Maynor on the Thunder assistant bench.
“We understand the relationship he has to the organization, fanbase, everybody here. The relationship they have with him. He’s an unbelievable philanthropist in the community,” Daigneault said. “This is a place he really resonates with him and a place that resonates with him.”
Once he checks in for the first time, expect the Thunder crowd to return to treating the Nuggets like a playoff opponent. After all, they’re the next obstacle in the way of the title favorite. The feeling will be mutual as well.
“When the ball goes up in there, he’ll be ready to compete for Denver and we”ll be ready to compete for Oklahoma City,” Daigneault said.
Mark Daigneault on Russell Westbrook: “He always brings great energy and competitiveness to the game… We understand the relationship he has to the organization, fanbase, everybody here. The relationship they have with him. He’s an unbelievable philanthropist in the community…… pic.twitter.com/2sgF3D6jjH
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) May 4, 2025
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Mark Daigneault on Russell Westbrook’s playoff matchup against Thunder
Ripping the ball away from Ivica Zubac, Russell Westbrook threw down a vicious breakaway dunk that was more than worth the technical foul he received as he hung on the rim and busted his vocal cords at the Denver crowd.
After a slow start, Westbrook provided the jolt of energy the Denver Nuggets needed to come away with a do-or-die 120-101 Game 7 win over the LA Clippers. The future Hall-of-Famer will now get a chance to continue his storybook playoff run when he faces the Oklahoma City Thunder.
As you know, Westbrook and the Thunder are tied at the hip. The 36-year-old spent his first 11 NBA seasons in OKC. He enjoyed his best years there on a title contender with several individual accolades like yearly All-Star nods and the 2017 MVP award.
Fast-forward five years after both sides mutually divorced, the Thunder must overcome their franchise leader in most stats if they want to win a championship. Meanwhile, Westbrook continues to chase his first ring and is now a prototypical Sixth Man scorer for the top-heavy Nuggets.
As Mark Daigneault gets to finally zero in on their Round 2 opponent, he said the first seed must be aware of how much Westbrook can disrupt the flow of a game — for better or worse. He cited his 29-point outburst in Denver’s Nov. win over OKC to hand it its first regular-season loss.
“He always brings great energy and competitiveness to the game. Especially when he’s off the bench, you have to account for the fact that he’s going to come into the game ready to rock,” Daigneault said. “The pace of the game is gonna go up and he’s gonna try to make something happen right off the bat and you can’t flat-foot him in that way.”
Addressing the elephant in the room, Westbrook’s playoff series against the Thunder will invoke all types of emotions. It’ll be bittersweet as the bond between the player and fanbase is in the same breath as Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat.
Expect Westbrook to get an ovation for Game 1. It’ll be his first playoff game at Paycom Center since he was traded in 2019. But for the Thunder, it’ll be business as usual. This is a new iteration of OKC. His only former teammates in the building will be Nick Collison in a suit and Eric Maynor on the Thunder assistant bench.
“We understand the relationship he has to the organization, fanbase, everybody here. The relationship they have with him. He’s an unbelievable philanthropist in the community,” Daigneault said. “This is a place he really resonates with him and a place that resonates with him.”
Once he checks in for the first time, expect the Thunder crowd to return to treating the Nuggets like a playoff opponent. After all, they’re the next obstacle in the way of the title favorite. The feeling will be mutual as well.
“When the ball goes up in there, he’ll be ready to compete for Denver and we”ll be ready to compete for Oklahoma City,” Daigneault said.
Mark Daigneault on Russell Westbrook: “He always brings great energy and competitiveness to the game… We understand the relationship he has to the organization, fanbase, everybody here. The relationship they have with him. He’s an unbelievable philanthropist in the community…… pic.twitter.com/2sgF3D6jjH
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) May 4, 2025
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Mark Daigneault on Russell Westbrook’s playoff matchup against Thunder
