Russell Westbrook has announced his retirement from the NBA, closing an 18-season career that made him one of the most explosive guards in basketball history.
The former league MVP confirmed the decision in a social media video narrated by actor Michael B. Jordan, with NBA.com reporting that Westbrook retires as the league’s all-time leader in triple-doubles, fifth all-time in assists and 14th all-time in points.
Westbrook’s peak remains one of the defining individual runs of the modern NBA. He was named Kia NBA MVP for the 2016/17 season after becoming the first player since Oscar Robertson in 1961/62 to average a triple-double across a full campaign. He went on to repeat that achievement three more times, doing so in 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2020/21.
Across 1,301 regular-season games, Westbrook finished with career averages of 20.9 points, 8.0 assists and 6.9 rebounds. Those numbers capture the all-action style that made him a constant pressure point for defences: downhill speed, relentless rebounding from the guard position and a willingness to carry huge offensive responsibility.
Russell Westbrook career achievements
- 2017 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player
- Nine-time NBA All-Star
- Two-time NBA All-Star Game MVP
- NBA 75th Anniversary Team selection
- NBA all-time leader in triple-doubles
- Four seasons averaging a triple-double
- Two-time NBA scoring champion
- Three-time NBA assists leader
- Olympic gold medallist with the United States at London 2012
Westbrook entered the league as the No. 4 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft out of UCLA, selected by the Seattle SuperSonics shortly before the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City. His first 11 seasons came with the Thunder, where he became a franchise icon and formed part of one of the league’s most memorable young cores.
He later played across several NBA stops, with NBA.com noting that his career covered seven franchises and ended with the Sacramento Kings. Wherever he played, Westbrook’s identity was unmistakable: pace, force, competitiveness and nightly statistical impact.
For UK basketball fans, his retirement also carries a London link. Westbrook was part of the USA team that won Olympic gold at the 2012 London Games, adding an international honour to a career already packed with NBA milestones.
Westbrook leaves the league with a legacy that will be debated, but rarely ignored. At his best, he changed the rhythm of games and pushed the statistical boundaries for guards in a way few players ever have.
Source: NBA.com.