Russell Westbrook is ready for the next chapter.
The 37-year-old announced Wednesday on his social-media accounts in a video narrated by actor Michael B. Jordan that he is retiring from the NBA after 18 seasons.
“Sometimes you don’t even know when you’ve already watched the end,” Westbrook wrote. “You had to be there. And now it’s over.”
Westbrook was selected fourth overall by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 2008 NBA Draft before the team relocated and became the Oklahoma City Thunder.
He won the NBA's Most Valuable Player award in 2017 after averaging a triple-double — 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game — and becoming the first to do so since Oscar Robertson.
Westbrook went on to average a triple-double in four additional seasons, finishing his career as the NBA's all-time leader in triple-doubles at 209, 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 from that MVP-winning 2016-17 season.
He was selected to nine all-star teams and earned All-NBA honours nine times. Westbrook also played for the Houston Rockets, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings.
In his final NBA season with Sacramento, Westbrook averaged 15.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.7 assists in 64 games. He became just the second player in league history, alongside LeBron James, to reach 25,000 career points and 10,000 assists.
Westbrook finished his career with 27,176 points, 10,351 assists, and career averages of 20.9 points, eight assists and 6.9 rebounds per game.
The one accolade missing from Westbrook's trophy case is a championship, as he missed a chance to win the title in his only NBA Finals appearance in 2012 with the Thunder. He did, however, win an Olympic gold medal with the U.S. in 2012 and a FIBA World Cup in 2010.
--with files from The Associated Press
