Kevin Durant Reacts to Russell Westbrook's Retirement in Heartfelt Post, Reflects on Thunder Tenure

Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant reacted to former teammate Russell Westbrook's recent retirement in a social media post on Thursday.

Durant reflected on their tenure with the Oklahoma City Thunder on X, sharing a story about how he was influenced by Westbrook's early practice habits.

Durant wrote that Westbrook's leadership was "inspiring" as a teammate before ending the post by sending him "much love and congratulations" on an "iconic career."

The two stars played eight seasons together in Oklahoma City from 2008-16.

Westbrook announced his retirement from the NBA on Wednesday.

He ended his impressive career with nine All-Star nods, nine All-NBA selections, two scoring titles and one MVP award.

Westbrook sits at No. 14 on the NBA's all-time scoring list and holds the No. 5 spot on the league's all-time assists leaderboard.

His 209 triple-doubles are the most in NBA history, as he averaged a triple-double throughout four separate seasons of his career.

Westbrook opened his tenure in the association alongside Durant, as they blossomed into stars together and helped lead the Thunder on several deep playoff runs. This included a 2012 NBA Finals appearance.

Their on-court partnership ended after Oklahoma City fell to the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 Western Conference Finals, as Durant signed with Golden State during the ensuing offseason.

While tensions were occasionally high during their matchups following the split, there doesn't appear to be any lingering animosity between the two. After all, Durant was open to Westbrook joining him on the Rockets in Oct. 2025.

The point guard ended up as a member of the Sacramento Kings instead, averaging 15.2 points and 6.7 assists per game during his 2025-26 campaign.

With Westbrook's playing days now behind him, he received a shoutout from one of his most notable teammates.