The Oklahoma City Thunder (and the Seattle Supersonics before them) have 51 jersey numbers worn by the players who have suited up for the franchise since its founding at the start of the 1967-68 season. To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Thunder Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team.

And while those Supersonics jerseys may not remain part of the franchise history should a new team be established in Seattle as was the case with the return of the Charlotte Hornets, they are part of the Thunder’s history today.

For this article, we continue with the 42nd jersey number in the series, jersey No. 44, with 15 players in total having donned the jersey in the history of the franchise.

The fourth of those players who did so in the Seattle SuperSonics era, Hall of Fame guard Paul Westphal. After ending his college career at USC, Westphal was picked up with the 10th overall selection of the 1972 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics.

The Torrance, California native would play the first three seasons of his pro career with the Celtics. He also played for the Phoenix Suns before he was dealt to Seattle in 1980. His stay with the team would span a single season, coming to an end when he signed with the New York Knicks in 1982.

During his time suiting up for the Sonics, Wesphal wore only jersey No. 44 and put up 16.7 points, 1.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.

All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Thunder jersey history No. 44 – Paul Westphal (1980-82)