Russell Westbrook of Long Beach, California retired at the age of 37 according to Rogers Sportsnet on Wednesday. Known as a triple double specialist, he is the NBA’s all-time leader in triple doubles with 209.
An elite point guard, Westbrook was a nine-time NBA All-Star. He was honoured eight times while with the Oklahoma City Thunder (2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019) and one time with the Houston Rockets (2020).
Westbrook led the NBA three times in assists. He had 820 helpers with the Thunder in 2017-18, 784 helpers with the Thunder in 2018-19, and 763 helpers with the Washington Wizards in 2020-21.
In 2016-17, Westbrook was the NBA’s Most Valuable Player while with the Thunder. He led the NBA in scoring that season (2558 points and 31.6 points per game). Westbrook also led the NBA with 28.1 points per game in 2014-15.
In addition to playing with the Thunder, Rockets and Wizards, Westbrook played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings.
In Westbrook’s career, he averaged 20.9 points per game, eight assists per game, 6.9 rebounds per game and 1.6 steals per game. He had a field goal percentage of .438, three point percentage of .308, and a free throw percentage of .771.
There is no doubt that Westbrook was a risk taker in his NBA career. Four times he led the NBA in turnovers. He had 5038 turnovers in his career. One could make an argument that Westbrook’s high turnover totals contributed to him not winning the NBA Finals in his career.
