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Russell Westbrook, former NBA MVP and 9-time All-Star, announces retirement
Digital Curator
Russell Westbrook, the 2016-17 NBA MVP and nine-time All-Star, announced his retirement on Wednesday after 18 seasons.
Related video above | Westbrook reflects on losing Kings season, possibility of remaining in Sacramento
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Westbrook made the announcement on social media with a video narrated by actor Michael B. Jordan. He captioned the video: “Sometimes you don’t even know when you’ve already watched the end. You had to be there. And now it’s over.”
In addition to the MVP and All-Star appearances, Westbrook was selected to nine All-NBA teams, secured an Olympic gold medal, and is the all-time leader in triple-doubles.
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 with 209 triple-doubles, the last on March 15. Nikola Jokic 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 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.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
