5 Reasons For Blake Griffin To Join Westbrook, Thunder Next Year
By Sai Mohan
Filling KD’s Giant Shoes
If Griffin were to return home, he wouldn’t be able to sport his existing No. 32 jersey since the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder retired the number to honor Fred Brown.
In 1979, Brown played backup to the star-studded backcourt duo of Gus Williams and Dennis Johnson as the Sonics won their first and only championship in franchise history. Brown spent all 13 NBA seasons in Seattle before retiring in 1984.
With Dion Waiters no longer a part of the Thunder, the No. 23 jersey is available. Griffin wore No. 23 in college, but wouldn’t it be interesting if he opted for Kevin Durant’s No. 35 jersey?
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Durant is No. 2 on the list of all-time scorers for the Thunder/Sonics. Typically, a player with such accomplishments would have his jersey retired upon retirement. But Griffin could put a stop to that by opting for No. 35 and throwing it in Durant’s face.
The passionate fans of Oklahoma City burned jerseys of Durant upon his exit and would probably enjoy the process of Griffin replacing the former MVP.
Of course, Griffin would be replacing more than just Durant’s jersey. He would instantly become the No. 2 option behind Russell Westbrook and help the Thunder become a legitimate title contender.
Griffin, a fierce competitor, has incidentally had a few run-ins with Thunder players over the last few years. In fact, he was even booed several times at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Fans have short memories. Oklahoma City would welcome Blake Griffin with opened arms.
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