Russell Westbrook Announces Retirement

“Sometimes you don’t even know when you’ve already watched the end,” Westbrook wrote in the caption. “You had to be there. And now it’s over.”

The fourth overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft out of UCLA, Westbrook spent his first 11 seasons with the Thunder before also playing for the Rockets, Wizards, Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets, and Kings.

In total, the Long Beach native was in the league for 18 years, averaging 20.9 points, 8.0 assists, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals in 33.1 minutes per game over the course of 1,301 regular season appearances. Westbrook also played in 135 playoff contests, advancing to the NBA Finals with Oklahoma City in 2012 and falling in the Western Conference finals on three other occasions.

A 6’4″ point guard, Westbrook made nine All-Star teams and was named the game’s MVP on two separate occasions. He earned nine All-NBA nods, including a pair of First Team berths in 2016 and 2017.

Westbrook also led the league in scoring twice and ranked first in assists three times, was named the 2017 Most Valuable Player, and claimed a spot on the NBA’s 75th anniversary team. He won a gold medal with the U.S. Olympic team in London in 2012.

Known for his speed, athleticism, and explosiveness, Westbrook became the first player since Oscar Robertson in 1962 to average a triple-double for an entire season during his 2016/17 MVP campaign, then achieved the feat in three of the following four seasons as well.

Westbrook will retire as the NBA’s 14th all-time leading scorer, with 27,176 total points. He also ranks fifth among the NBA’s all-time leaders in assists (10,351), 14th in steals (2,038), and 60th in rebounds (9,025).

Westbrook spent last season in Sacramento, averaging 15.2 PPG, 6.7 APG, and 5.4 RPG over the course of 64 outings (58 starts). The Kings reportedly had interest in re-signing him to be a veteran mentor to rookie point guard Darius Acuff Jr., but they would have wanted him to play a reduced role. Rather than returning to the Kings, Westbrook – who will turn 38 in November – has decided to call it a career.