Russell Westbrook, who played 18 NBA seasons with seven teams, announced his retirement on social media on Wednesday. He had offers this offseason but chose to step away on his own terms, ending one of the most statistically robust careers in league history.

Westbrook spent the bulk of his career with the Thunder, teaming with Kevin Durant and James Harden to lead the team to a Western Conference title in 2012. During the 2016-17 season, he became the first player since Oscar Robertson in 1962 to average a triple-double for a full season, putting up 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists to capture the MVP award. He posted an NBA-record 42 triple-doubles that season.

Westbrook holds the NBA record for most career triple-doubles with 209, surpassing Robertson's mark of 181 in 2021. He retires fifth in NBA history in career assists and 14th on the NBA's career scoring list with 27,176 points. In his final season with the Kings, he averaged 15.2 points, 6.7 assists and 5.4 rebounds.

The Kings had discussed bringing him back, but it would have been in a reduced role as the organization turns to rookie guard Darius Acuff. Westbrook's agent Jeff Schwartz released a statement noting the difficulty for older veterans to land deals under the current CBA rules.