Russell Westbrook has retired from the NBA after 18 seasons, announcing the decision on August 12 in a video narrated by the actor Michael B. Jordan and posted to his social accounts. "Sometimes you don't even know when you've already watched the end," Westbrook said in the video. The clip never uses the word "retirement," framing the exit instead as Westbrook stepping away on his own terms.
He leaves as the league's all-time leader in triple-doubles with 209, a record he took from Oscar Robertson. In 2017 he became the first player since Robertson in 1962 to average a triple-double across a full season, and he was voted Most Valuable Player that year.
Westbrook finishes with 27,176 career points, 14th on the all-time scoring list, and 10,351 assists, fifth all-time. He averaged 20.9 points, 8.0 assists and 6.9 rebounds per game across his career, and was named an All-Star nine times and All-NBA nine times.
Oklahoma City drafted him fourth overall in 2008 out of UCLA. He spent 11 seasons with the Thunder before playing for the Houston Rockets, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings.
Two teams still had offers on the table. NBC Sports reported that the Kings and Wizards each offered him a minimum contract for the 2026-27 season as a reserve guard, and that he weighed those options before stepping away.
Westbrook's post-playing business interests are already in place. He is among the ownership group of OKC United, the Oklahoma City soccer club unveiled alongside Baker Mayfield and the Chickasaw Nation. His retirement lands weeks before the 2026-27 season opens, the first in nearly two decades without him on a roster.
Source: NBC Sports
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