OKC Thunder: In the news – Russ in top 100, sings at Legend concert, local prospect Thomas

Welcome to OKC Thunder – In the news for Wednesday, May 31 where we look at Westbrook’s rank in top 100 athletes, Russ singing at John Legend concert, a former Thunder player busting moves with his son, local player among prospect workouts and TI’s Draft prospect profiles .

Although Russell Westbrook and the OKC Thunder are well immersed in their offseason it doesn’t mean the Brodie is out of the spotlight.

Westbrook Ranks 35th on ESPN’s Top 100 Athlete List:

ESPN has compiled their annual top 100 athlete list again this year. The 2017 list finds Russell Westbrook ranking 35th.  The highest ranking NBA player is LeBron James who comes in second on the list. Westbrook is eighth among NBA players.  Although certain players coming in ahead of Russ are understandable given their numerous championship appearances a few seem questionable.

The seven players in front of Westbrook in order are: LeBron (2), Kevin Durant (8), Stephen Curry (11),  Dwyane Wade(24), James Harden (28), Derrick Rose (33), Kyrie Irving (34). which seems a little off given Derrick Rose ranked ahead of him at number 33.

"Who are the most famous athletes on the planet? Ben Alamar, ESPN’s director of analytics, devised a formula that combines endorsements with social media following and internet search popularity to create the ESPN World Fame 100 rankings. (Note: NA means either an athlete doesn’t have an official account for a social media site or an accurate endorsement figure could not be confirmed.)"

Brodie Sings:

Certainly Russ doesn’t seem bothered to rank behind Wade, Rose, or Irving as this past weekend Russ attended the John Legend concert and thrilled fans by singing along with the crooner. Alysha Tsuji brought us these great example via Twitter:

And this ….

And while he’s no longer on the OKC Thunder squad this video showing Dion Waiters dancing with his son is just too good not to include in our daily mix:

https://twitter.com/dionwaiters3/status/868199126298746886

Local player works out for OKC Thunder:

More from Thunderous Intentions

• Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
• Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
• 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
• Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
• Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder

The OKC Thunder tend to keep their workouts with draft prospects under wraps. But, news leaked out a local Oklahoma City player (Rashawn Thomas) indeed was among those the team worked out.  KIII Sports ran the piece along with a video you can view here.

"Islander basketball’s all-time leading scorer Rashawn Thomas worked out for his hometown NBA team Monday. Thomas, who went to Southeast Oklahoma City High School, visited the Oklahoma City Thunder.  It was his fourth pre-draft workout, his first with a Western Conference team. He previously visited the Milwaukee Bucks, the Toronto Raptors, and the Boston Celtics."

Draft prospects series continues:

Speaking of draft prospects the Thunderous Intentions crew continue to roll out our series on all the players likely to be drafted June 22.  On Tuesday TI featured T.J. Leaf and Justin Jackson.

There is one more sleep until the NBA Finals tip off. Have a great Wednesday and see you back here tomorrow to catch ‘In the news”.