Russell Westbrook had some phenomenal moments in the first round of the playoffs for the Denver Nuggets as he helped take down the LA Clippers in seven games. However, his performance took a turn for the worst against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Semifinals as he shot under 35% from the field in that seven game series.
On Tuesday, the 2017 NBA MVP announced that he would be undergoing surgery on his right hand, which could be the reason why his performance dipped so much as the playoffs went on. This comes just over a year after he got surgery on his left hand when he was with the Clippers.
Russell Westbrook announces that he is undergoing right hand surgery pic.twitter.com/mbg1xrvzHL
— Law Murray 🤔 (@LawMurrayTheNU) May 27, 2025
“This morning, I’m undergoing surgery on my right hand to fix two breaks that happened during the season,” Westbrook said. “I’m grateful for everyone’s support all year and I can’t wait to be back out there at 100% soon. the comeback is already in motion. #WhyNot”
This also isn’t the first time he’s had surgery on his right hand, as he fractured it at the start of the 2014-15 season when he was with the Thunder. He missed 14 games that season as he recovered.
It’s not clear when exactly Westbrook sustained these breaks, but he had been wearing splints on his right hand throughout the postseason. The injuries were clearly at their worst in Game 7 against Oklahoma City, as he was wearing multiple splints.
(Photo by Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
Westbrook began the playoffs hot for Denver, shooting over 40% from both the field and 3-point range. He made 20 of his 63 3-point attempts in the NBA playoffs, but only five of those came against the Thunder.
Westbrook has a player option on his contract with the Nuggets for next season, which will be the 19th season of his career. After the season ended, he bluntly said that he hadn’t made a decision on whether or not he wants to return to the Nuggets.
The 36-year-old got off to a difficult start with Denver, as he shot just 5-for-25 in his first three games with the team. Quickly after that, he was able to find a level of chemistry with Nikola Jokic that no one thought could be achieved as he shot over 50% from the field in December and January.
Jokić and Russ were UNREAL tonight in the @nuggets win.
🔥 Joker: 23p, 20r, 16a, 2s, 2b
🔥 Brodie: 29p (10-15 shooting), 6r, 6a
Jokić joins Westbrook (Apr. 2, 2019) as the 2nd player to record a 20/20/15 game since Wilt Chamberlain in 1968! pic.twitter.com/zwozPyYZ2M
— NBA (@NBA) November 7, 2024
As the season went on, his shooting numbers dipped back down to the poor numbers that he has been posting throughout the later stages of his career. In April, he had a sequence of events in a double overtime loss against Minnesota that spoiled a 60-point triple double from Jokic and arguably led to the firing of Michael Malone.
It was a wild roller coaster for Westbrook in his first season in Denver, but he was able to do plenty of good things for the team en route to being one of the last four teams standing in the gauntlet of the Western Conference. If he elects to opt in to his player option, it will be a good deal for Denver given how little money is involved.
