Russell Westbrook Celebrated by NBA Fans After Retirement Video, Won 2017 MVP Award

Russell Westbrook has played his final NBA game.

The former NBA MVP announced his retirement Wednesday with a video narrated by Michael B. Jordan.

A few NBA players saluted the star after the news broke:

NBA fans also celebrated Westbrook as one of best point guards of all time following the news.

Westbrook played last season for the Sacramento Kings before hitting free agency ahead of what would have been his age-38 campaign.

He appeared in 64 games and started 58 for the Kings while averaging 15.2 points, 6.7 assists and 5.4 rebounds before hitting free agency this offseason.

Westbrook said at his end-of-season press conference he "wouldn't mind coming back" to the Kings.

NBA insider Marc Stein reported Tuesday the Kings had some interest in re-signing Westbrook, but that it would require him taking on a reduced role as the franchise gives more minutes to rookie point guard Darius Acuff Jr.

Westbrook will instead close out his NBA career after 18 seasons and 1,301 regular-season games for seven franchises.

At the time of Westbrook's retirement, LeBron James (1,622 career games) was the only active NBA player who had played more games.

Westbrook started out his career with the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he won the 2017 MVP award after averaging 31.6 points per game.

He earned nine All-Star nods between 2010 and 2020, including eight with the Thunder and one with the Houston Rockets.

Westbrook passed Hakeem Olajuwon in February to rank 16th in the all-time NBA scoring race and first among all players with 209 career triple-doubles.

He finished his career having led the league in points two times and assists thrice, while helping Team USA win gold at the 2010 FIBA World Championship and 2012 London Olympics.

Players are eligible to join the NBA after three full seasons have passed. Should Westbrook stay retired, he could be eligible for induction after the 2029-30 campaign.