Russell Westbrook retires from NBA after 18 seasons

Russell Westbrook, the NBA’s career leader in triple-doubles and the 2017 MVP, announced Wednesday he’s retiring after 18 seasons during which he was selected to the league’s 75th anniversary team.

The two-time scoring champion shared his decision on social media in a post featuring a video narrated by actor Michael B Jordan in which the Westbrook stays 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 was the No 4 pick in 2008 out of UCLA by the Seattle SuperSonics, just before they moved to Oklahoma City. He played his first 11 seasons with the Thunder and spent this past season with the Sacramento Kings.

Westbrook led the NBA in assists three times and was a two-time MVP of the All-Star Game. He won an Olympic gold medal in the 2012 London Games.

Westbrook leaves the league with 209 triple-doubles, the last of which came on 15 March. Nikola Jokić ranks second in that category with 198. Westbrook also holds the NBA mark for most triple-doubles in a season with 42 in 2016-17, when he earned his only MVP award. He averaged double figures for points and assists in five of six seasons starting in the 2015-16 season.

Westbrook also played for Houston, Washington, the Lakers and Clippers – splitting the 2022-23 season between the Los Angeles teams and Denver.

Last season, Westbrook started 58 of the 64 games he played for Sacramento. He averaged 15.2 points and 6.7 assists.