Russell Westbrook retires after 18 NBA seasons
Former MVP and all-time triple-double leader Russell Westbrook announced his retirement, ending an 18-year career that included a 2017 MVP award and a spot on the league’s 75th-anniversary team.
Russell Westbrook, the NBA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles and 2017 Kia MVP, said on Wednesday that he is retiring after 18 seasons. The announcement was made via a social-media post that featured a video narrated by actor Michael B. Jordan, with Westbrook’s own words reading, "Sometimes you don’t even know when you’ve already watched the end. You had to be there. And now it’s over."
Westbrook was selected fourth overall in the 2008 draft out of UCLA by the Seattle SuperSonics, who became the Oklahoma City Thunder a year later. He spent his first 11 seasons with the Thunder before playing for the Houston Rockets, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets and most recently the Sacramento Kings, where he started 58 of 64 games and posted averages of 15.2 points and 6.7 assists.
During his career, Westbrook led the league in assists three times, won two All-Star Game MVP awards and captured an Olympic gold medal at the 2012 London Games. He finished with 209 career triple-doubles, the most in NBA history, and holds the single-season record with 42 triple-doubles set in 2016-17, the year he earned his sole MVP honor. He also ranks fifth all-time in assists and 14th in points.
Westbrook’s retirement concludes a career that saw him selected to the NBA’s 75th-anniversary team and recognized as a two-time scoring champion.