A month after Kevin Durant bolted for Golden State, star guard Russell Westbrook signed a contract extension Thursday to stay in Oklahoma City. A person with direct knowledge of the terms said the sides agreed on a three-year deal worth $85.7 million. The Thunder reached the conference finals four of the past six seasons, but advanced to the NBA Finals only once, falling to the Miami Heat in 2012. Durant became a free agent at season’s end and announced July 4 that he would sign with Golden State. After Thursday’s announcement, the Thunder feted the 27-year-old Westbrook during an event that was part pep rally and part press conference. He briefly addressed a crowd of about 1,500 people at Chesapeake Energy Arena. “Me being able to come back here is a true blessing,’’ Westbrook said.

‘‘There is nowhere else I'd rather be than Oklahoma City. You guys have basically kind of raised me. I've been here since I was 18, 19 years old and you guys have done nothing but great things for me . . . I definitely wanted to have an opportunity to be loyal to you guys.’’

Westbrook said people — specifically in the Thunder organization and generally in Oklahoma City — convinced him that staying with the only franchise he’s ever known was the correct decision.

Westbrook is one of the top stars in the NBA and piled up 18 triple-doubles last season, tying Magic Johnson for the most in the last 30 years. The five-time All-Star averaged 23.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 10.4 assists last season and helped the Thunder reach the Western Conference finals, where the lost a 3-1 series lead and fell in seven games to Golden State. For his entire career, Westbrook had been paired with fellow superstar Durant and together they turned Oklahoma City into an NBA title contender.

Westbrook’s contract had been set to expire after next season and, after Durant’s departure — which was unexpected by Thunder fans — rumors swirled about Westbrook’s future while he publicly remained silent. Westbrook and the Thunder answered most of those rumors Thursday.

Austin Ainge looks ahead

Celtics director of player personnel Austin Ainge will serve as director of the NBA’s Americas Team Camp in Mexico City from Aug. 10-13. The camp will include 40 of the top 16- and 17-year-old players from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico. Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari, Pelicans guard Quincy Pondexter, former Hornets guard Jorge Gutierrez, and Suns coach Earl Watson are among those also scheduled to take part in the four-day event.

Ainge said the trip will offer the opportunity to scout some prospects, but that will not be his main focus. “The primary goal of this is to help grow the game and try to promote the game globally,’’ Ainge said. “It’s a great opportunity to give back.’’

ADAM HIMMELSBACH

College footballBaylor hit by new report

Rami Hammad, a Baylor football player arrested this week on a felony stalking charge, was allowed to play in 2015 despite being accused of sexual assault and violating a ‘‘no contact’’ order with the alleged victim, ESPN reported. Hammad was suspended from the Baylor football team Monday after he was charged with stalking, harassing, and assaulting a former girlfriend. Baylor officials declined immediate comment. The school separately faces three federal civil lawsuits by eight women who have accused the school of ignoring or being indifferent to their claims of sexual assault dating to 2005.

ESPN’s ‘‘Outside the Lines’’ reported that a different woman told Baylor officials in September 2015 that after going with Hammad to his apartment, he forced her to perform a sexual act. The woman told ESPN she did not go to police because she did not perceive the incident to be rape and worried about the repercussions of reporting a football player. Only after an acquaintance told her about a similar encounter with Hammad did she report it to Baylor’s Title IX office, which is supposed to enforce federal anti-gender discrimination guidelines. After Hammad confronted her about reporting him to Baylor officials, the woman requested and received on Sept. 30, 2015, a ‘‘no contact’’ order issued by Baylor, ESPN reported. Two days later, Hammad confronted her again on campus. At that point she called Baylor police, but ultimately decided not to press charges.

ESPN reported that it reviewed the no-contact order as well as emails the woman received from Baylor. When contacted by ESPN, Hammad referred questions to Waco criminal defense attorney Phil Martinez.

Alabama is coaches’ choice

Alabama is No. 1 in the preseason coaches’ poll, with Clemson at No. 2 and Oklahoma, Florida State, and Ohio State rounding out the top five. The Crimson Tide is the defending national champion after beating Clemson in the College Football Playoff title game. The Associated Press preseason Top 25 will be released Aug. 21. LSU was sixth, followed by Stanford, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Tennessee.

. . . Alabama and coach Nick Saban are defending the decision to block defensive back Maurice Smith’s transfer to Georgia. Smith has graduated and sought a release from his scholarship entering his final season. Saban blocked his transfer to Southeastern Conference schools. The statement released through media relations said Alabama officials ‘‘remain happy to assist Maurice to enable a transfer to any non-SEC school, and have been doing everything requested regarding that throughout this process.’’ Smith was spotted around the football building when the Crimson Tide held its first practice Thursday. Saban addressed the situation after practice and said Smith had opportunities to go to schools outside the SEC.

HockeyBaby B’s fill out bench

The Bruins hired Jay Leach and Trent Whitfield as Providence assistant coaches. Leach and Whitfield will serve under Kevin Dean, who was promoted to head coach July 18. Leach will handle the defensemen, while Whitfield will work with the forwards. Leach and Whitfield served as Providence captains as players. Leach wore the “C’’ in 2006-07, when the defenseman appeared in 73 games. Whitfield was Providence’s captain for three straight seasons as a two-way center. Last year, Leach was Mike Sullivan’s assistant for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate. He remained with the team after Sullivan’s promotion to Pittsburgh and served as Clark Donatelli’s assistant.

Leach was not retained after the Penguins allowed Donatelli to choose his full-time assistants for 2016-17. Leach played in 70 career NHL games, including two for the Bruins. He was a four-year defenseman at Providence College. Whitfield was an assistant to Mark French for Calgary of the WHL last year. Whitfield logged 194 career NHL games, including 17 for the Bruins.

FLUTO SHINZAWA

MiscellanyCollins tees off on injury

Mets slugger Yoenis Cespedes was put on the 15-day disabled list because of a sore right quadriceps, and a feisty manager Terry Collins has teed off on those wondering whether the outfielder aggravated his injury playing golf. Cespedes hurt his leg July 8, and the injury has been nagging him since. On Wednesday, former big leaguer Kevin Millar tweeted a photo of himself playing golf with Cespedes earlier in the day. Asked about that image before Thursday night’s Subway Series game at Yankee Stadium, Collins raised his voice. ‘‘Golfing had nothing to do with his leg,’’ Collins said three hours before gametime. ‘‘I don’t care about perception. I deal with reality.’’ The Mets recalled outfielder Brandon Nimmo from Triple A Las Vegas to fill Cespedes’s roster spot. Cespedes went 1 for 5 in Wednesday night’s 9-5 loss to the Yankees and is hitting .292 with 22 homers and 59 RBIs. ‘‘Doctors have told us it probably had no impact on the injury positive or negative but, let’s face it, play golf during the day and then go out injured in the evening, it’s a bad visual, and I think he recognizes that at this point,’’ Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said. Collins says he doesn’t know when Cespedes might be able to play again. Collins said the team wanted to let the injury ‘‘quiet down’’ before resuming baseball activities . . . Bordeaux striker Jeremy Menez has undergone surgery after losing part of the top of his right ear in his first match for the club. The former French international, who joined Bordeaux this summer from AC Milan, was helped off the pitch in the 77th minute of the preseason friendly match against Lorient on Wednesday. After a clash in the air, Lorient midfielder Didier Ndong’s left foot accidentally made contact with Menez’s ear while he was on the ground. Ndong apologized for the injury, saying it was ‘‘absolutely unintentional.’’