Kevin Durant plans to attend Nick Collison jersey retirement the longest tenured OKC Thunder player ever. Can it rekindle good vibes?
Nick Collison, the 14-year NBA veteran forward/center spent his whole career with the Seattle Supersonics – OKC Thunder organization. Collison is set to have his jersey retired on March 20th. Although Collison’s career production is certainly lacking typically tantalizing stats, the fact Collison remained a loyal and serviceable veteran through the end matters.
Professional veterans are crucial to maintaining stability within the team structure. This is especially true for an organization as young as the OKC Thunder. The team faced several challenges in establishing a new operational foundation and fandom in an unknown market in Oklahoma City,
As OKC Thunder General Manager Sam Presti said upon Collison’s retirement, the right people are always needed in “the early phase of an organization’s life cycle”. Presti went on to praise Collison’s professionalism as being a basketball “craftsman, tough, selfless, and humble. He brought the best of himself his entire career each day he walked through the door.”
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Not only was Collison’s impact palpable to management, staff, and ownership, but he also left an imprint on a young Kevin Durant early on. Prior to announcing his career-defining decision to sign with the Golden State Warriors, Durant notified Collison personally. Collison stated during an interview that Durant “texted that morning before he announced his decision.”
Apart from that showing of respect towards the veteran, Durant has stated before that Collison was instrumental to his growth in the league. Durant quipped “he taught so much about the business of basketball, the life of basketball, what it takes to continue to do this for so long.”
News surfaced Kevin Durant is planning to attend the jersey retirement ceremony. It will mean going out of his way to attend the ceremony after an away game (at Minnesota). This shows not only a clear sign of respect to Nick Collison but remnants of appreciation for the Thunder organization as a whole.
Twitter burner accounts controversy aside, attending the ceremony is the very first course of action Durant has taken to interact with the Thunder organization (aside from Warrior’s away games at Chesapeake Energy Arena).
Resentment is a terrible thing to carry on, and this move by Durant could be the first step to cleansing the bad blood between him and the OKC Thunder.