3 Jersey Numbers That The Oklahoma City Thunder Should Retire
On March 20, Nick Collison became the first Oklahoma City Thunder player to have his jersey number retired. Collison was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics back in 2003, although he moved with the organization to Oklahoma City five years later and consequently spent his entire 15-year professional career with the franchise.
Appearing mostly from the Thunder's reserve unit, Collison made 910 regular season appearances, averaging 5.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. While not the most glamorous player to grace the NBA, Collison's longevity and loyalty to the Thunder were ultimately recognized, and his No.4 jersey now stands proudly at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Collison's number retirement also rekindled the debate over which player could be next to have their OKC jersey retired. Despite only joining the NBA in 2008, a number of individuals have already made a big impact on the Thunder, and here we will examine three men that should eventually have their number retired.
#3 Serge Ibaka
During his time in Oklahoma City, Serge Ibaka's input was often overshadowed by the All-Star pairing of Durant and Westbrook. However, Ibaka was undoubtedly the third star of the team, playing a major role in the team's run to the 2012 NBA Finals.
Ibaka was never named as an All-Star during his time in OKC, although he was named to the All-Defensive First Team on three occasions, and Ibaka also recorded the most blocks in both 2012 and 2013.
In total, the Congolese star made more than 500 regular season appearances for the team, and his 1300 total blocks is still a franchise record. Ibaka also sits third all-time in minutes, rebounds and points, and there is no doubting that the Thunder should honor the power forward's incredible seven-year spell with the franchise.