Russell Westbrook Announces Retirement After 18 NBA Seasons
Theo Al Jazeera English
Russell Westbrook, former NBA MVP and all-time triple-double leader, announced his retirement after 18 seasons. He leaves with 209 triple-doubles and a legacy of relentless competitiveness.
Russell Westbrook, former NBA Most Valuable Player, has officially announced his retirement after 18 seasons, sharing a video on social media Wednesday.
“Sometimes you don’t know that you’ve seen your last moment. You have to be there. And now, it’s over,” Westbrook wrote in his post.
The announcement came in a three-and-a-half-minute video. Westbrook did not answer any questions from the narrator, but the message made clear he chose to leave on his own terms. At the end of the video, text read: “The greatest thing he left can’t fit in a museum. It never needed to be spoken.”
Westbrook, 37, recorded 209 career triple-doubles, including an NBA-record 42 in the 2016-17 season when he won MVP. That year, he averaged 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 10.4 assists, becoming the first player since Oscar Robertson in 1961-62 to average a triple-double for a full season.
A nine-time All-Star, Westbrook ranks fifth all-time in assists with 10,351 and 14th in points with 27,176. He led the NBA in assists three times and in scoring twice. In 2021, he was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. He also won consecutive All-Star Game MVP awards in 2015 and 2016 and earned an Olympic gold medal with Team USA at London 2012.
Over 1,301 regular-season games with seven different teams, Westbrook averaged 20.9 points, 8.0 assists, and 6.9 rebounds. In 135 playoff games, he averaged 22.5 points, 7.1 assists, and 6.7 rebounds.
Oklahoma City Years and NBA Finals Run
Westbrook was selected fourth overall by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 2008 NBA Draft, and the team relocated to Oklahoma City before his rookie season.
He spent 11 seasons with the organization, teaming with Kevin Durant to make the Thunder one of the NBA's top contenders. Oklahoma City reached the NBA Finals in 2012 alongside James Harden, losing to the Miami Heat.
Westbrook made eight All-Star appearances with the Thunder. The other came when he averaged 27.2 points for the Houston Rockets in 2019-20, his only season with that franchise.
“Russell Westbrook is a competitor who never gave up,” Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti said in a statement. “His internal belief and fearless determination helped build the foundation of our organization from day one in 2008, and he elevated the confidence and inspired our community every year since.”
“Russell will succeed in life after basketball just as he did on the court, because his character and talent are transferable. His impact on our community is still felt today, and he is loved as much for his dedication as for his ability.”
“He built a Hall of Fame career not through pronouncements or simply breaking records, but by showing all of us the power of a simple question: Why not?”
In his final six seasons, Westbrook played for five different teams. Last season, he averaged 15.2 points and 6.7 rebounds in 64 games (58 starts) for the Sacramento Kings.
Before entering the NBA, Westbrook starred at UCLA, leaving college after two seasons. He was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year in his sophomore year.
