American basketball player Russell Westbrook, former NBA MVP and triple-double king, announced Wednesday that he was retiring at the age of 37, after 18 seasons in the NBA, in a video on his social networks.
The point guard released an enigmatic farewell video lasting more than three minutes, narrated by actor Michael B. Jordan, in which Westbrook is filmed watching some of the highlights of his career. “Sometimes we don’t even realize that we’ve already seen the end. You had to be there. And now it’s over,” we read in the caption.
Russell Westbrook, gold medalist at the 2012 Olympics and nine times selected for the All-Star Game, twice finished as top scorer of the season, in 2014-2015 then in 2016-2017 with Oklahoma City, where he played eleven seasons.
At the Thunder, alongside Kevin Durant and James Harden, he won the Western Conference title in 2012, before being beaten in the NBA final by the Miami Heat.
In 2017, he was voted MVP after a season where he set a new all-time record for the number of triple-doubles in a single season (42), previously held since the 1961-1962 season by Oscar Robertson. He also holds the NBA record for most triple-doubles in a career (209).
After his departure from Oklahoma City in 2019, Russell Westbrook played for Houston, Washington, the two Los Angeles franchises (Lakers and Clippers) and Denver before signing a season in Sacramento, his last club, last year.
