Back in 2008, the Seattle SuperSonics were controversially relocated to Oklahoma City after failing to meet the then-new league standards for their home arena. Upon their arrival in the Southwest region of the country, the club became known as the OKC Thunder.
Despite their vastly different locations, looks, and, to a certain extent, fanbases, from a technical standpoint these two iterations are, in fact, one franchise, and the history books are a great reminder of such a factoid.
From coaching timelines to player statistics, the team's records consist of SuperSonics and Thunder from past and present.
And while their documented history may be the lone remaining link between the former Seattle and current Oklahoma City-based franchise, according to a recent report by ESPN, even this may soon be on the verge of extinction.
In a recent NBA expansion FAQ published by the outlet, it was revealed that, per sources, "if a team was to return to Seattle, the Thunder would cede the Seattle history back to the SuperSonics."
In a nutshell, what this means is if Seattle were to once again be the home base for an NBA organization, the Thunder would allow them to take back the SupserSonics-era history metrics.
The NBA has seen such a happening take place before, as the Hornets reclaimed the Charlotte-era history of the New Orleans Pelicans when the franchise switched back from being the Bobcats to the Hornets ahead of the 2014-15 season.
With this came a major reshuffling in the organization's record books and, should Seattle be reinstated as an NBA team location and Oklahoma City follows through with their vow, Russell Westbrook's on-paper claim as being the G.O.A.T Thunder would only manage to strengthen.
Thunder giving Seattle history back would benefit Russell Westbrook
Through 11 seasons donning the blue, orange, and gold threads, Westbrook established himself as the fan base's favorite choice when discussing who the team's greatest player of all time is.
With his resume that consists of eight All-Star selections, eight All-NBA nods, a 2017 NBA MVP award, three-straight seasons of averaging a triple-double (26.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 10.4 assists from 2016-17 through 2018-19), and career averages of 23.0 points, 8.4 assists, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.8 steals it's hard to argue against such a notion.
However, due to the combination of both SuperSonics and Thunder historical statistics, the point guard finds himself trailing in a number of highly notable all-time categories.
In the event that Seattle is gifted their historical stats back, Westbrook's stock in the franchise's G.O.A.T debate would only find itself rising even higher than it already is.
He would be crowned the new all-time leader in a plethora of hot-topic, key statistical departments including, but not limited to, assists (his 6,897 trails only SuperSonics star Gary Payton), rebounds (his 5,760 currently ranks third behind Jack Sikma and Shawn Kemp, both were solely with the Sonics), field goals made (his 6,626 trails only Payton), steals (his 1,442 is third behind Payton and Nate McMillan, both of the SuperSonics), and games played (his 821 ranks fourth all-time, though the only player ahead of him who played for the Thunder is Nick Collinson, who logged just 602 while in OKC).
Not to mention, these would be added to his already impressive list of all-time standings that include points (18,859) and triple-doubles (138).
So, while having Seattle's history be sent back to the SuperSonics in the event that they are reinstated into the league would be beneficial to the organization, it would also simultaneously simplify the Thunder's record books which, in turn, would only reinforce Russell Westbrook's claim of being the true G.O.A.T out in Oklahoma City.