Russell Westbrook's NBA draft class had big names, but his Hall-of-Fame career stands alone

When the Seattle SuperSonics selected a hyper-athletic point guard out of UCLA with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, few could have predicted what he would ultimately become. The SuperSonics, who became the Oklahoma City Thunder that same year, drafted one of the most statistically dominant forces in basketball history, Russell Westbrook.

However, Westbrook entered the league with a few legitimate heavyweights in terms of talent, including Derrick Rose and Kevin Love. Russell Westbrook’s draft class featured a few core pieces of the 2010s era in the NBA. But with Westbrook officially announcing his retirement from the game, we took a look back at his unprecedented resume, which reveals that he doesn't just lead his peers; his career accolades stand entirely alone.

The list of players who had successful, if not great, NBA careers and heard their names called in the 2008 NBA Draft is strong. Here's a look at a rundown of a few of the top names and some secondary names who put together strong careers in their own right.

*Note: Names are listed in the order they were selected.

• Derrick Rose (No. 1 pick)
• Michael Beasley (No. 2)
• Kevin Love (No. 5)
• Danilo Gallinari (No. 6)
• Eric Gordon (No. 7)
• Brook Lopez (No. 10)
• Jerryd Bayless (No. 11)
• Marreese Speights (No. 16)
• Roy Hibbert (No. 17)
• JaVale McGee (No. 18)
• Kosta Koufos (No. 23)
• Serge Ibaka (No. 24)
• Nicolas Batum (No. 25)
• George Hill (No. 26)
• Mario Chalmers (No. 34)
• DeAndre Jordan (No. 35)
• Goran Dragic (No. 45)

Of course, there were other very notable names from the 2008 NBA Draft class, but even when putting Westbrook's resume up against the likes of Rose and Love, it's impossible not to walk away impressed. With Westbrook's NBA career now wrapped up, his accolades and stats leave him as an unquestioned future Hall-of-Famer.

Westbrook changed the way point guards were viewed across the league shortly after being drafted. He was the definition of a "do-it-all" player, whether scoring, passing, rebounding, or playing defense. He was named the NBA Most Valuable Player in 2017 and a nine-time NBA All-Star, winning the MVP award twice.

In terms of All-NBA seasons, Westbrook had nine of them, including two first-team selections (2016 and 2017), five second-team nods (2011-2013, 2015 and 2018) and two third-team selections (2019 and 2020). Highlighting his unique skill set, Westbrook was a two-time NBA scoring champion and three-time NBA assist leader.

Arguably, the most impressive accolade to mention is his inclusion in the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, which featured the 75 greatest players in league history. Westbrook was one of only 11 current players selected at the time.

In terms of statistics and his time in the NBA, Westbrook played for seven franchises, but spent the first 11 years of his career with the Thunder. During his time in Oklahoma City, Westbrook posted averages of 23.0 points, 8.4 assists, 7.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals across 821 games. Other franchises he spent time with included the Houston Rockets, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings. Westbrook finished his career with averages of 20.9 points, 8.0 assists, 6.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.

Westbrook also became the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double across a single season, doing it four times in his career. That stretch included three consecutive seasons from 2016-17 through 2018-19 with the Thunder, and then again in 2020-21 with the Wizards.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Russell Westbrook's NBA draft class had big names, but his Hall-of-Fame career stands alone