OKLAHOMA CITY, Monday, April 20, 2015 – Russell Westbrook is one of 10 finalists for the 2014-15 Seasonlong NBA Cares Community Assist Award, the league announced today. Thunder fans can support Westbrook’s bid for the award by taking part in the public vote, which is now underway.
Between now and Monday, April 27, the Thunder encourages fans to vote for Westbrook using Twitter, Instagram and Facebook:
TWITTER: Fans may vote by posting a tweet or retweeting any post that contains both #RussellWestbrook and #NBACommunityAssist.
INSTAGRAM: Fans can vote by posting any photo and adding both #RussellWestbrook and #NBACommunityAssist in the photo caption. Any repost will be counted if both hashtags are in the photo caption. Comments do not count as votes.
FACEBOOK: Thunder fans can vote by commenting on any post from the official Thunder Facebook page, facebook.com/okcthunder, using both #RussellWestbrook and #NBACommunityAssist. Both hashtags must be in an individual comment to count as a vote.
Voting closes at 10:59 p.m. Central on Monday, April 27. The winner will be determined by an NBA panel of judges and by the fan vote on social media.
Westbrook won the monthly NBA Cares Community Assist Award in October, qualifying him as a finalist for the seasonlong honor. The league honored the Thunder player in fall for opening his first Russell’s Reading Room at an Oklahoma City public school. Since then, Westbrook’s foundation has completed and dedicated two more of the reading centers in the Oklahoma City metro, giving area elementary students at high-poverty schools access to thousands of books and personally inspiring them to find a passion for reading.
Through both Thunder community initiatives and his Why Not? Foundation, Westbrook has established himself as a community leader, having a positive impact on thousands of lives in Oklahoma and his native Los Angeles. In his community-outreach efforts, Westbrook has built from the foundation of Thunder community events by creating his own charitable organization, which holds holiday parties, a bowling event and basketball camps. Over the years, he has expanded his efforts into projects that are having more long-term effects on the community around him, such as his Russell’s Reading Room facilities.