On Friday night, the Denver Nuggets played the Oklahoma City Thunder (at home) for Game 3 of their second-round playoff series. The Nuggets won by a score of 1

Jalen Williams, who now plays the role of star for the Thunder in Westbrook's place, shared a message with the former MVP amid their series. Williams, who is on the younger side of stars in this league at 24 years old, spent a significant time of his days growing up and watching Westbrook as one of the featured players in the NBA.

There's also the Russell Westbrook factor. For the first time since being traded in 2019, the 36-year-old will play at OKC in front of a playoff crowd on Monday for Game 1. He was robbed of that opportunity with the Houston Rockets in 2020 due to The Bubble.