11-Year-Old Thunder Fan Donates Allowance To Keep Westbrook

Eleven-year-old Hooper Stover from Elk City is a big Thunder fan and even a bigger Russell Westbrook fan. But when late August rolled around he became very concerned that Russell Westbrook still hadn't committed to stay with the Thunder.

“Yeah, it scared me,” he told us Monday.  

So Hooper, who says his love for Westbrook is inspired by his passion for basketball and the Thunder, decided to write a letter to Thunder General Manager Sam Presti and put his $10 allowance into the envelope.

“I told him the money was for him to keep Russ and I wanted him to use it,” said Hooper.

“I was on the verge of telling him don’t do this, don’t waste your money they’re millionaires they don’t need your ten dollars,” said his mom Holly. “But his heart was in the right place.”

The very next day after Russ signed that deal, Hooper got a phone call from Sam Presti who thanked him for his letter and $10.

“He said that was just enough,” recalls Hooper.

And he offered Hooper four tickets to the Thunder's opening night game against the Knicks.  The family also had dinner at Sam's personal table at the Courtside Club before the game where the Thunder GM joined them and offered Hooper a bit of personal advice.

“Presti said if you don’t take a shot at something, nothing ever good will come out of it. So I learned a lesson from him.”