Russell Westbrook, who played 18 NBA seasons with seven teams, announced his retirement on social media on Wednesday.
Westbrook had offers this offseason with the Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards but chose to step away from the game on his own terms, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania. Both teams maintained great relationships with Westbrook and wanted him on their rosters next season, sources said.
Westbrook, who was the No. 4 pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics, had career averages of 20.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game.
Westbrook holds the NBA record for most career triple-doubles with 209. He has held the league record since 2021 when he recorded his 182nd triple-double to surpass Oscar Robertson's mark of 181, which had stood since 1974. Westbrook posted 42 triple-doubles in the 2016-17 season, the most in a single season in NBA history.
Westbrook spent the bulk of his career -- 11 seasons -- with the Oklahoma City Thunder and was the 2017 MVP with them. Westbrook teamed with Kevin Durant and James Harden to lead the Thunder to a Western Conference title in 2012 before losing to the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.
Westbrook finishes fifth in career assists, behind John Stockton, Chris Paul, Jason Kidd and LeBron James. He retires No. 14 on the NBA's career scoring list with 27,176 points. The only three active players ahead of him are James, Durant and Harden.
Westbrook's agent, Excel Sports Management founder and CEO Jeff Schwartz, released a statement earlier Wednesday about issues for veteran players -- potentially such as Westbrook -- to land deals in the wake of the first and second aprons era of the collective bargaining agreement: "Incredible, the Lakers sell for $12B, yet teams won't spend on older vets because of current CBA rules. Thank you, Union."