Russell Westbrook retires from NBA after 18 seasons as 9-time All-Star, former MVP

Russell Westbrook is calling it a career.

The nine-time All-Star, nine-time All-NBA selection, former MVP and reigning triple-double king announced his retirement from basketball on Wednesday.

Westbrook broke the news via a video narrated by actor Michael B. Jordan that he shared on social media.

The video features Westbrook watching his career highlights on a big screen then looking to “whatever’s next, the mentorship, the foundation, the kids who are going to grow up wanting to move just like he did.”

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It concludes with Jordan asking: “Now that you’ve decided to step away from everything on your own terms, what are you most proud of?”

Westbrook doesn’t answer the question or say a word in the video. He saved his own brief statement for his social media post:

“Sometimes you don’t even know when you’ve already watched the end.

“You had to be there. And now it’s over.”

Westbrook goes out on his own terms

With that, Westbrook’s NBA career is finished after 18 seasons at 37 years old. He leaves the game with gas in the tank, having played in 64 games last season for the Sacramento Kings, including 58 starts.

He remained productive with 15.8 points, 6.7 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game in his final season and had developed into a beloved veteran locker room presence wherever he played.

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But as Jordan noted in the retirement video, Westbrook opted to go out on his own terms rather than continue to play until he could no longer contribute to an NBA roster.

From a Thunder team that featured Kevin Durant and James Harden, Russell Westbrook remains the most beloved in Oklahoma City.

(Adam Glanzman via Getty Images)

Westbrook’s Thunder legacy

Westbrook joined the NBA in 2008 as the No. 4 pick by the Seattle Supersonics following a standout sophomore season at UCLA playing alongside Kevin Love that resulted in a trip to the Final Four.

By the time he stepped on an NBA court for the first time, the Sonics had moved to Oklahoma and become the Thunder. There, Westbrook was a core member of one of the promising young rosters in NBA history that never coalesced to win an NBA…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/breaking-news/article/russell-westbrook-retires-from-nba-after-18-seasons-as-9-time-all-star-former-mvp-183741898.html

Author : Jason Owens

Publish date : 2026-08-12 18:37:00

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