Russell Westbrook, the NBA’s career leader in triple-doubles and the 2017 Most Valuable Player, has announced his retirement after 18 seasons, ending one of the most statistically unusual careers in the sport.
The 37-year-old guard made the announcement on social media on Wednesday through a video narrated by the actor Michael B. Jordan, in which he does not speak.
What did he say?
ESPN reported he had offers from the Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards this offseason but chose to step away on his own terms. The Kings had discussed a return in a reduced role as the club turned toward rookie point guard Darius Acuff.
| Career figure | Total |
|---|---|
| Triple-doubles | 209, an NBA record |
| Points | 27,176, 14th all time |
| Assists | 10,351, fifth all time |
| Rebounds | 9,025 |
| All-Star selections | 9 |
Why is Russell Westbrook significant?
Russell Westbrook announced his retirement from the National Basketball Association on 12 August 2026 at the age of 37, after 18 seasons with seven teams. He holds the league record for career triple-doubles with 209, ahead of Nikola Jokic on 198, and for most in a single season with 42 during 2016-17, the year he was named Most Valuable Player. He was a nine-time All-Star, a nine-time All-NBA selection, a two-time scoring champion and twice All-Star Game MVP, and was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. He finished with 27,176 points, 10,351 assists and 9,025 rebounds, ranking fourteenth in career scoring and fifth in career assists. Selected fourth overall by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 2008 draft out of UCLA, he never played a game for the franchise, which relocated to Oklahoma City that summer. He never won an NBA championship.
What defined the career?
The triple-double record is the headline, but the more striking measure is the 2016-17 season, when he recorded 42 in a single year and averaged a triple-double across the whole season, a feat previously achieved only by Oscar Robertson in 1962.
He became the career leader in rebounds from the point guard position, a distinction he wore proudly, and joined LeBron James as the only players with 25,000 points and 10,000 assists.
He has also scored the fourth most career points of any player never to win a championship.
How did it begin and end?
Drafted fourth overall in 2008 out of UCLA by the Seattle SuperSonics, he never played a game for the club, which moved to Oklahoma City that summer. Alongside Kevin Durant and James Harden he reached the 2012 Finals, losing to Miami.
He later played for Houston, Washington, the Lakers, the Clippers, Denver and Sacramento, starting 58 of 64 games for the Kings last season and averaging 15.2 points and 6.7 assists. Thunder general manager Sam Presti called him the ultimate competitor.
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Sources for this report
The Redline News Desk
The Redline News desk files and edits world reporting. Every story carries the sources it was built from, and corrections are published on the story itself.
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