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Former Kings PG Receives Great Honor Following Retirement
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- Former Kings PG Receives Great Honor Following Retirement
(IMAGN IMAGES/Reuters Connect)
Amidst a rather quiet offseason from the Sacramento Kings , the team did have to make some significant decisions regarding veteran talents like DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook.
Following a buyout agreement with DeRozan, Westbrook announced his retirement, calling it quits after a stellar 18-year career.
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With Sacramento, Westbrook averaged 15.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game on 33.8-percent shooting from 3-point range in 64 games, stepping up in an injury riddled backcourt.
Throughout the season, Westbrook served as the team's vocal leader, showing the Kings' young players how to be a professional and providing a fire and energy to a struggling team.
This level of leadership and fiery playstyle was Westbrook's M.O. throughout his career, as the former NBA MVP received a great honor on Monday, Nov. 2.
On February 7, Westbrook will have his jersey number retired and lifted into the rafters by the Oklahoma City Thunder , cementing his place as one of the franchise's cornerstone faces.
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From 2008-2016, Westbrook was Kevin Durant's right-hand man with the Thunder, helping lead the franchise to an NBA Finals appearance in 2012 before losing to the LeBron James and the Miami Heat .
The Thunder, of course, decided to move on from James Harden, and subsequently lost Durant years later, but Westbrook remained, taking his game to another level as the bonafide No. 1 option.
In the season following Durant's shocking move to Golden State , Westbrook averaged 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists, averaging a regular season triple-double for the first time since Oscar Robertson in 1962 and earning MVP honors.
Westbrook recorded 42 triple-doubles during the season - an NBA record which still stands today.
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He retired as the triple-double king, having hit the mark 209 times in his illustrious career.
Years after hoisting the MVP trophy, Westbrook was dealt to the Houston Rockets , where he formed a deadly backcourt duo with Harden, but ultimately began the downswing of his career.
Westbrook remained productive, but bounced around the league, spending time with the Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers , Los Angeles Clippers , Denver Nuggets , and the Kings.
Perhaps Westbrook's most-iconic moment as a King came in early March, when he engaged in a back-and-forth with multiple members of media following a loss.
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After being asked about what can still be accomplished at this point in Sacramento's season, Westbrook responded, "You know, go out, compete. This the game, you're a professional. You go out and play and that's all you can do."
A short pause filled the room before Westbrook asked, "What y'all think, though? Y'all got a lot of answers and always be talking."
Westbrook essentially answered the question for the reporter, saying "I haven't seen you at practice." He then asked, "Do you know me?"
"No, you don't know me," Westbrook said, answering his own rhetorical question. "But you make a lot of comments as though you do know me.
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"You don't know anything about me."
This type of passion and intensity was evident every time Westbrook touched the court.
While bringing Westbrook back to mentor rookie point guard Darius Acuff Jr. would have been a nice get, the triple-double king road off into the sunset on his own terms.
In February, he will receive his first post-retirement honor with the Thunder, and will have to wait a bit before being named a First-Ballot Hall of Famer.
