SACRAMENTO, Calif. — 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 in a social media post featuring a video narrated by actor Michael B. Jordan in which the nine-time All-Star point guard never says a word.
“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 draft 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 with 209 triple-doubles, the last on March 15. Nikola Jokić ranks second in that category with 198 going into this season. 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 in points and assists in five of six seasons starting in the 2015-16 season.
Westbrook also played for the Houston Rockets, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets.
Last season, Westbrook started 58 of the 64 games he played for the Kings and averaged 15.2 points and 6.7 assists.