After 18 seasons in the NBA, Russell Westbrook officially retired on Wednesday. Plenty of former teammates congratulated the future Hall of Famer on his career, including Kevin Durant. The current Houston Rockets forward spent eight seasons with Westbrook on the Oklahoma City Thunder, reaching the Western Conference Finals four times and the NBA Finals once in 2012. Durant took to Twitter on Thursday afternoon to write a lengthy tribute post for Westbrook, praising his work ethic and leadership, which he wrote was inspiring to see as his teammate and to "people from all walks of life." Throughout the post, Durant also encouraged Westbrook to "keep inspiring in the next phase of life" and wrote that people couldn't erase what the two had accomplished together as teammates. He then closed with a shoutout to Westbrook's family and others close to him before finishing with "much love and congratulations on an iconic career." While it wasn't with Durant, Westbrook spent one year with the Rockets in 2019-20, coming to Houston in a midsummer trade after 11 seasons with the Thunder. That season, he earned All-Star and All-NBA third-team honors, averaging 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7 assists per game.
I remember asking assistant coach Mo Cheeks, what’s harder to do? Workout after practice or before?? I only asked cuz by time I would get to the gym, Russ was already done in the morning and I usually got mine in after practice. Mo like, “coming in before practice is probably… — Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) August 13, 2026 This article originally appeared on Imagn Images: 'Keep inspiring': Kevin Durant congratulates former teammate on retirement