Russell Westbrook announces retirement after 18-season NBA career

Russell Westbrook announced on Wednesday via social media that he is retiring after an 18-season NBA career. Westbrook is the NBA’s career leader in triple-doubles and was the 2017 MVP.

Westbrook entered the NBA as the No 4 pick in the 2008 draft out of UCLA by the Seattle SuperSonics just before the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City and spent his first 11 seasons with the Thunder. He was named to the league’s 75th anniversary team and is a two-time scoring champion.

He shared the decision in a social post accompanied by a video narrated by actor Michael B Jordan in which Westbrook remains silent. “Sometimes you don’t even know when you’ve already watched the end,” Westbrook wrote. “You had to be there. And now it’s over.”

Westbrook holds the NBA mark for most triple-doubles in a season with 42 in 2016-17, the campaign when he earned his only MVP award. He produced sustained statistical balance later in his career, averaging double figures for points and assists in five of six seasons beginning with 2015-16.

Among his other achievements, Westbrook led the NBA in assists three times, was a two-time MVP of the All-Star Game and won an Olympic gold medal with the United States at the 2012 London Games. These accolades sit alongside his scoring titles and league honors.

Beyond Oklahoma City, Westbrook’s career included stints with Houston, Washington, the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers — he split the 2022-23 season between the two Los Angeles teams and Denver. He spent this past season with the Sacramento Kings, starting 58 of the 64 games he played and averaging 15.2 points and 6.7 assists.

Westbrook leaves the league with 209 career triple-doubles, the last of which came on 15 March. Nikola Jokić ranks second in that category with 198.