Russell Westbrook arrived at the UCLA as an unheralded an incomplete prospect, a three-star recruit out of nearby Lawndale, California. The future perennial NBA MVP candidate hooped sparingly during his first season at Pauley Pavillion, playing second fiddle to the entrenched starting point guard, Darren Collison. In Westbrook’s sophomore year, the 6’3” dynamo was joined by Kevin Love, one of the country’s top prospects in his senior year of high school. Westbrook saw regular playing time his second season, using his shutdown defense and deft passing to lead UCLA to their third consecutive appearance in the Final Four of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

     Westbrook used his seven foot wingspan and innate competitive drive to terrify and perplex PAC-10 offensive players on the way to winning the conference Defensive Player of the Year award during the 2007-08 season. Westbrook declared for the NBA Draft shortly after his season ended, with the Seattle SuperSonics using the fourth pick in the draft to bring Westbrook into the fold. Along with fellow first round draft pick Serge Ibaka, the Sonics selected the perfect components to pair with rising superstar Kevin Durant ahead of their lucrative move east to Oklahoma City. The Sonics completed that move six days after the draft, preventing Westbrook from donning the green and gold of the 1979 NBA champs.

     Westbrook played with Durant during his first eight seasons in Oklahoma City, helping them to six playoff appearances and making five All-Star teams. It wasn’t until Westbrook’s ninth season, when Durant left to join the Golden State Warriors, that Westbrook evolved into the flamethrowing spawn of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and a Sherman Tank. Number zero became only the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season, putting up a mark of 31.6 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 10.4 assists per game.    

     This home UCLA jersey is white, with a yellow and blue band ringing the collar and sleeve openings. The jersey is double layered, with a second white layer lining the jersey. “UCLA” is sewn across the front of the chest. The “U”, “L”, and “A” are blue tackle twill, while the “C” is yellow tackle twill. Westbrook’s now iconic number “0” is sewn on the front and back in blue tackle twill. “WESTBROOK” is sewn across the back shoulders in blue tackle twill. A circular NCAA patch is sewn on the left front shoulder of the jersey. The twill on the jersey is sewn on only to the inner layer of the jersey. An Adidas size “44” tag is sewn on the front left tail of the jersey. Westbrook signed the chest of the jersey in black marker. This item comes with a LOA from PSA/DNA (AC01275) for the signature and a LOA from noted game used jersey expert Dave Miedema.

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