Nick Collison Wants Thunder to Retire Durant's Jersey: 'He's a Big Part of What We Did Here'

Collison will be the first Thunder player to have his jersey retired at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.

Warriors forward Kevin Durant will be in Oklahoma City on Wednesday when the Thunder retire the jersey of his ex-teammate, Nick Collison. The former OKC forward will be the first Thunder player to have his jersey retired and Collison is calling for Durant to ultimately have his name in the Oklahoma City rafters.

"[Durant] has meant a ton to Thunder basketball and spent a huge majority of his career here. A lot of these honors are just kind of what the team decides to do, and I think players are appreciative of them," Collison told ESPN's Royce Young. "I don't get too worked up about it. I'll let other people debate that, but to me, he's a big part of what we did here.

Durant and Collison played eight seasons together in Oklahoma City (and one season in Seattle) before Durant left for Golden State in July 2016. The duo reached the playoffs six times including a Finals appearance in 2012. 

Collison spent his entire 14-year career with the Sonics and Thunder. He retired in 2018 averaging 5.9 points and 20.4 minutes per game in his career.