Former 2017 MVP point guard Russell Westbrook had to wait until midway through NBA training camp to sign on with his latest team, the Sacramento Kings, on a $3.6 million veteran’s minimum deal.
The soon-to-be-37-year-old is slated to embark on his 18th pro season in 2025-26. He’s among the 15 oldest active players in the league, and he’s struggling to find his footing in his transition from his nine-time All-Star heights to his current reality as a bench guard.
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During a post-practice conversation with gathered media, the 6-foot-4 UCLA product was asked, point-blank whether he intends to hang up the sneakers for good and call it a career after this season, per Bleacher Report.
“Yeah, right,” Westbrook joked.
The former high-flying superstar may still have the hops to compete at the NBA level — and he proved just last year with the Denver Nuggets that he can be a helpful reserve on a good team, so long as he isn’t closing out games — but it seems that the musical chairs dance of NBA free agency has been narrowing down the window of teams that want him in recent seasons.
In 75 healthy games for the 50-32 Nuggets last year, Westbrook averaged a respectable 13.3 points on .449/.323/.661 shooting splits, 6.1 assists, 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 0.5 blocks. He had a player option for 2025-26, but decided to test free agency — much to his eventual detriment.
The Kings, now an aimless, ill-fitting collection of former All-Stars who don’t play defense after an exciting 2022-23 season under former head coach Mike Brown, represent something of a basketball purgatory. They’ve been squarely in play-in tournament territory for the past several years, but after bringing in aging veteran guards like 32-year-old starting point guard Dennis Schröder and Westbrook, they appear to be all-in on this low-ceiling approach.
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Granted, a team that also boasts Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Malik Monk should have no problem scoring in bunches. Sabonis and DeRozan, like Westbrook during a contest’s first three quarters, are also fairly adept passers. But in a Western Conference being dominated by pass-happy offenses, youth and defense, they’re an also-ran before regular season even tips off.
An MVP in Winter
Westbrook is still a fun watch, but his shortcomings have gotten a bit more pronounced in his playing dotage. Beyond the defensive issues, he functions best with the ball in his hands — which can be a problem when he’s suiting up alongside more talented teammates at this stage in his career. He still has enough burst to score around the basket, but his jumper has fallen off mightily, prompting opposing defenses to leave him wide open beyond the paint. He also cannot be trusted in late-game situations.
To be clear, he remains one of the great point guards in league history, but even at his absolute apex, there were questions about his defense and ball dominance. Now, after a relatively successful season in Denver, he will be wallowing in total irrelevance with Sacramento. At what stage will he be willing to walk away?
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