Former NBA Most Valuable Player Russell Westbrook, the league’s triple-double king, has “decided to step away” after 18 seasons in the league.
Westbrook Reflects on Career in Farewell Video
Russell Westbrook, a 37-year-old point guard and nine-time NBA All-Star, shared a farewell video narrated by actor Michael B. Jordan. The video, captioned “You had to be there. And now it’s over,” features Westbrook reflecting on his career highlights and contemplating future plans.
In the video, Westbrook does not speak, but the narrator poses a poignant question: “Now that you decided to step away from everything, on your own terms, what are you most proud of?” Despite his silence, the sentiment is clear.
Westbrook’s career includes two scoring titles and an Olympic gold medal, marking him as a significant figure in basketball history.
Individual and team impact
He spent 11 seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder, teaming with Kevin Durant and James Harden to win the Western Conference title in 2012 before falling to the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. He earned MVP honors with the Thunder in 2017. That season he broke Oscar Robertson’s venerable record for triple doubles in a regular season, amassing 42 games with double digit totals in three key statistical categories. Robertson’s record of 41 triple-doubles had stood since the 1961-62 campaign and Westbrook broke it in spectacular fashion on April 9, 2017, with his third 50-point triple-double of that season. He holds the NBA record for most career triple-doubles with 209, having surpassed Robertson’s long-standing mark with his 182nd in 2021. He averaged 15.2 points, 6.7 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals with the Kings but had remained unsigned as a free agent. In a recent appearance on CNN to discuss his philanthropic work, Westbrook who averaged 20.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game over his career was asked about the fact that he hadn’t yet been signed.
“I don’t think about it, honestly,” he said. “I love playing basketball, and if it happens, it works, and that’s my plan.” bb/jc This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. He is one of only three players in NBA history, along with Robertson and Denver star Nikola Jokic, to average a triple-double over a season. Westbrook has done it in four campaigns. Since departing Oklahoma City Westbrook had played for the Houston Rockets, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers and Denver Nuggets before signing a one-year deal with Sacramento last season.
