On August 12th, 2026, NBA guard and former MVP Russell Westbrook announced his retirement after 18 seasons. The Long Beach native, known for his explosive athleticism and high intensity over his eighteen-year career, suited up for many teams in the NBA, but the most noticeable for his years spent playing for the OKC Thunder, called it quits following the 2025-26 NBA season.
Selected 4th overall in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Seattle Supersonics right before they moved and rebranded to the Oklahoma City Thunder. In Oklahoma, Russell Westbrook quickly emerged as a franchise pillar for the Thunder alongside NBA Forward, Kevin Durant.
Following Kevin Durant’s departure from Oklahoma City, Westbrook elevated his play to a whole new level. During the 2016-17 NBA season, Westbrook averaged a triple-double (a basketball stat where a player reaches double digits (10 or more) in three of five statistical categories in a single game), averaging 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 10.4 assists per game, becoming the first person to do this since Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson in 1962. The nine-time All-Star retires with the most triple-doubles all-time, being crowned as the “Triple-Double King”.
Following his own departure from Oklahoma City, Westbrook would go on to play for the Houston Rockets, the Washington Wizards, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Denver Nuggets, and the Sacramento Kings; with each stop bringing his competitive drive and nature with the high intensity he was known for wherever he went.
The retirement of Russell Westbrook for me was a shockwave and the strongest realization for me yet that the era of basketball I grew up watching my entire life is slowly but surely coming to an end. It’s always a bittersweet feeling when a part of your childhood that meant and still means so much to you begins to fade away. Even the best and greatest things in life come when they are supposed to and go when it is their time. And so, to that I thank Russell Westbrook for being a pillar not just in my childhood but for the millions he inspired with his drive and love for basketball, as well as the love he shows everything in life, from being a father to giving back to the communities that raised him. I hope whatever is next for Westbrook brings him the same joy that he brought the people who watched him.
