Russell Westbrook, one of the most explosive guards of his era, announced his retirement Wednesday after an 18-year NBA career.
Westbrook, 37, posted a video on social media that was narrated by actor Michael B. Jordan and featured career highlights.
“Sometimes you don’t even know when you’ve already watched the end,” Westbrook wrote in the accompanying post. “You had to be there. And now it’s over.”
Westbrook, a free agent this offseason, doesn’t say a word during the 3 1/2-minute video.
Sometimes you don’t even know when you’ve already watched the end.
You had to be there. And now it’s over. pic.twitter.com/6YoOW8WyIV
— Russell Westbrook (@russwest44) August 12, 2026
With that, Westbrook closes the book on one of the most illustrious careers by a guard in NBA history.
In November, Westbrook became the eighth player to record 10,000 assists. He finishes his career fifth on the all-time list with 10,351. LeBron James is in fourth place with 12,016. Westbrook is also the league’s all-time leader in triple-doubles with 209 and averaged a triple-double in four different seasons. Nikola Jokić enters 2026-27 with 198 triple-doubles. Drafted with the No. 4 pick in 2008, Westbrook spent 11 seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder, earning two first-team All-NBA honors and winning the league’s MVP award in 2016-17.
Westbrook led the league in scoring twice and in assists three times.
Westbrook’s motto morphed into an international slogan among the basketball community: “Why Not?” And at every step of his career, Westbrook embodied that mantra by defying the odds on and off the court.
During his early days as a pro, Westbrook was an ironman. Through his first five seasons, he never missed a game. Westbrook appeared in 394 consecutive regular-season games from the start of the 2008-09 season through the end of the 2012-13 season.
In addition to his triple-double records, Westbrook will be remembered most as one of the most passionate and animated players ever. His nightly electricity turned him into a global star. No one exhibited more ferocity and fearlessness than Westbrook. And fans grew to appreciate how Westbrook showed up to work each night.
But he also had his critics.
Despite his otherworldly athleticism, mind-numbing statistical output and fellow future Hall of Fame teammates, Westbrook reached the NBA Finals only once, in 2012 with the Thunder, and lost in five games. In failing to win a championship, Westbrook joins a list of all-time greats who never accomplished the feat, including Elgin Baylor, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Reggie Miller, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Steve Nash, Allen Iverson and Chris Paul.
The Thunder’s official statement on Russell Westbrook’s retirement. / Credit: Oklahoma City Thunder
His shot selection, decision-making and turnovers also created many detractors. Westbrook’s biggest weakness was perhaps his below-average 3-point shot, which limited his impact as his athleticism waned, making him a difficult fit in smaller roles.
Westbrook wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but he sure was entertaining.
The view of Westbrook in Los Angeles alone, for example, is vastly different among Lakers and Clippers fans. Westbrook was that polarizing throughout his career.
But he will always be beloved in Oklahoma City and appreciated by fans for cameos in places such as Denver and Washington.
Westbrook spent the 2025-26 season with the Sacramento Kings. He played in 64 games, starting 58, and averaged 15.2 points and 6.7 assists. The Kings, however, went 22-60 and tied the Utah Jazz for the worst record in the Western Conference.
Westbrook also established himself as a fashionista early in his career. He often wore eclectic outfits to games, helping usher in the NBA runway era that has made capturing players’ “fits” as they enter arenas routine.
His off-court interests also extend to business and outreach, initiatives he began cultivating during his playing days through his Russell Westbrook Why Not? Foundation and Russell Westbrook Enterprises.
Westbrook’s retirement announcement video hinted at the next chapter.
“This wing isn’t finished,” Jordan narrates as Westbrook sits in a room under construction. “Neither is he.”
