The nine-time All-Star and former MVP is headed to Sacramento in his 18th NBA season.
Russell Westbrook has reportedly agreed to sign a contract with the Sacramento Kings, according to ESPN's Shams Charania, as the former NBA Most Valuable Player and nine-time All-Star/All-NBA selection returns for an 18th season. The terms of the deal are forthcoming.
Westbrook, 36, averaged 13.3 points, 6.1 assists and 4.9 rebounds in 27.9 minutes per game across 75 appearances, including 36 starts, for the Denver Nuggets last season. He was one of just 17 NBA players to hit those marks — a list laden with All-Star, All-NBA and MVP candidates.
That’s the sort of rarefied air through which Westbrook traveled throughout his years in Oklahoma City, first with and then without Kevin Durant. As his career has winded its way through various outposts over the past half-decade, though — stints with Houston, Washington and both L.A. franchises before landing alongside Nikola Jokić in Denver — and his shooting efficiency has waned while his turnover rate waxes, Westbrook has transitioned from the ranks of franchise-cornerstone superstars into being something of a tricky fit on would-be contending rosters.
He can still be a productive one, though, as evidenced by his mutually beneficial pairing with Jokić this season — one capable of outperforming the veteran minimum salaries he’s played on over the past few seasons, and even producing in the postseason.
Westbrook still brings inarguable verve on every possession, helping juice his team’s transition frequency with end-to-end forays off steals and defensive rebounds. Even as the odometer ticks up, he can still operate in the pick-and-roll, find creases in the defense and get to the cup, taking well over 40% of his field goal attempts at the rim last season and converting 64% of them, his highest rate since 2021.
Playing more frequently off the ball alongside Jokić last season, he also showed some facility with migrating his game a bit more away from the middle of the floor, making a career-high 45 corner 3s last season — more than he had in the previous twoseasons combined — at a 42% clip. And he’s still able to crank it up come springtime, as he did in Denver’s opening-round win over the Clippers team that traded him away last offseason to set the stage for him joining the Nuggets:
But while Westbrook was critical to Denver’s first-round win over the Clippers, he was costly in Round 2 against Oklahoma City, shooting just 34.8% from the field and 21.9% from 3-point range with more turnovers (18) than assists (17) in 160 minutes — during which the Nuggets were outscored by 92 points, far and away the worst plus-minus of any player in the conference semifinals. After the Thunder eliminated the Clippers, Westbrook had surgery to repair two broken bones in his shooting hand.
The gift and the curse of Westbrook’s game — the inimitable fire with which he plays, and the danger that it will sometimes get a little out of control and burn you — has made him one of the NBA’s most compelling figures for nearly two decades. Now, it makes him an intriguing gamble for teams looking to fill roles in free agency: a potential high-risk, high-reward signing whose shaky jumper and turnover problems can submarine a second unit, but whose intensity, rim pressure, durability and years of high-level experience can still bring plenty of value for a team looking for a fresh jolt of energy and attitude.
Category: General Sports
