Trans. May 22 11:55 ET (May 22 11:55 ET ) If you're like me or my friend Trey Kerby , this photo of Russell Westbrook high-fiving a young victim of the tornado that devastated Oklahoma City and Moore, Okla., on Monday filled your heart to bursting, and also made you want to know a little bit more about the injured Oklahoma City Thunder point guard's new friend.
First off: The little guy is Grayson Ketchie. He's 3 years old, he's the big brother of a 6-month-old named Brayden and, based on the company he keeps, appears to be a boss. On Monday afternoon, the brothers were at a day care facility destroyed by the storm; while Brayden came out unscathed, Grayson did sustain some injuries, which landed him in the Children's Hospital at OU Medical Center.
And that's where Westbrook and several of his Thunder colleagues come into the story, according to Nick Gallo of the Thunder's official website :
[...] the Ketchie’s story has a happy ending. Both of their children will be okay, and as they were recovering, they were one of the many families the Thunder visited at the Children’s Hospital the day after the tragic storm. Russell Westbrook, Jeremy Lamb, Hasheem Thabeet, DeAndre Liggins and Head Coach Scott Brooks all met with families recovering from the horrific tornado in the PICU. The highlight of the day was when Westbrook, despite being in a wheelchair as he recovers from his torn right meniscus, played with Grayson, exchanged high-fives and blew bubbles.
“He played with Grayson so wonderfully,” [mother Janna] Ketchie said. “It’s so awesome. They’re great guys… It’s amazing to see that he’s a professional basketball player who we know from nobody and he’s blowing bubbles with my son to make my son feel better. It’s amazing.” [...]
“It’s tough to come in here and be with the families when their child is in pain, but it’s also good to see them smile and have a sense of enjoyment after the disaster yesterday,” Westbrook said.
Hit the jump for footage of the Thunder players visiting Grayson and other young patients at the hospital.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The way Kevin Martin describes it, the Oklahoma City Thunder lost the ''vision'' of a potential championship run the morning they learned All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook would be out for the rest of the postseason.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The way Kevin Martin describes it, the Oklahoma City Thunder lost the ''vision'' of a potential championship run the morning they learned All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook would be out for the rest of the postseason.
With every season that ends, for the playoff teams at least, we felt it right to take a look ahead. TNT already has the rights to "Gone Fishin'," and because we're sure that someone, somewhere, still likes that Wyclef song, we're going with "Gone Till November." And, yes, we know the season starts in October. Today? The Oklahoma City Thunder.
Russell Westbrook’s knee injury may have cost his team an NBA title this season, but it could also go a long way towards saving coach and general manager Sam Presti a whole heck of a lot of criticism. To some Oklahoma City Thunder fans, that statement is just piling bad on top of bad.
Scorn for Brooks’ abilities date back two years at this point, and whether they come in the form of complaining about his limited mid-playoff adjustments or overreliance on certain vets, he’s taken quite a bit of heat following two straight five-game finishes to seasons in 2012 and now 2013. Presti, meanwhile, will receive tempered but certain criticism for his choices to ostensibly value contract extensions for Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka over one for Houston Rocket All-Star James Harden.
Both will be back next year, though. Brooks just finished the first year of a four year contract, and Presti has done so well in his first six years with the team that he’s earned several more years of goodwill. Both admirably and staunchly defended themselves (and by extension, the team’s owners) in the wake of the deal that sent James Harden to Houston, allowing for the team’s ownership to skate in the face of paying the luxury tax. On top of that, Westbrook’s season ending injury allows for most to consider the 2012-13 team a once-again championship contender that was just felled by bad luck at the worst possible time.
It’s this simple If Russell Westbrook were playing the Oklahoma City Thunder would be on their way to the NBA Finals. Instead, there was disappintment as they fell in the second round to a very good Memphis Grizzlies team 4-1. This was not some blowout, Memphis was just +18 for the entire series. No game…
NBA DRAFT LOTTERY SIM
MADNESS!
