Less than a week before the 2025-26 Opening Night, Russell Westbrook has found an NBA home. He will sign a one-year deal with the Sacramento Kings, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
It’s the latest stop in Westbrook’s journey. The 36-year-old is set to enter his 18th NBA season. Of course, most remember him for his time on the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was one of the top players for 11 seasons there. Always an All-NBA player and former MVP winner, he’s one of the best players in franchise history.
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Since then, though, Westbrook has sharply declined. He’s been on seven teams with the Thunder, Houston Rockets, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, Denver Nuggets and now the Kings. Both sides were in constant communication throughout the offseason. Now, a deal has been agreed upon.
Westbrook spent last season with the Nuggets. He was their Sixth Man and one of the only players they regularly handed minutes to in the NBA playoffs with their top-heavy squad. He was bounced out of Round 2 by the Thunder in a seven-game series.
The latter one-third of his NBA career has seen Westbrook become a bench player. While he has contributed to the box score, his lack of a jumper has always been his biggest weakness.
The Kings have a veteran-heavy group. Westbrook will likely be the backup point guard to Dennis Schroder. He will reunite with Domantas Sabonis. DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine are also in Sacramento to make up a weird group of veterans who hope to be a playoff squad this upcoming season.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Report: Russell Westbrook extends NBA career, signs deal with Kings