OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Thunder will retire Nick Collison’s No. 4 in March.
The team made the announcement in a news release on Saturday.
“Nick Collison’s career in Oklahoma City was unique. Unique in that he helped create the internal standards for work ethic, selflessness, citizenship and professionalism for an organization that was starting from scratch. Unique in that as a role player, he embedded himself as a legacy player for the Thunder because of his consistency both in times of success and adversity and respect for his teammates and the organization,” said Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti. “It is fitting that Nick will continue his unique and singular relationship with the organization by being our first retired number.”
The ceremony will take place when the Thunder hosts the Toronto Raptors on March 20. The crowd favorite’s number will be the first the franchise retires since moving from Seattle to Oklahoma City before the 2008-09 season.
Collison announced his retirement last May after spending all 15 years of his career with the Thunder franchise, which was the Seattle SuperSonics when he was drafted 12th overall in 2003. He appeared in 910 regular season games with 177 starts and posted career averages of 5.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 20.4 minutes per game.
Collison joins Russell Westbrook as the only players to spend the first 10 years of the Thunder era all with the team.
