Klay Thompson breaks silence with ‘emotional’ confession on former rival Russell Westbrook’s retirement originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Russell Westbrook announced his retirement after 18 NBA seasons, closing the book on a legendary career that includes an MVP award, nine All-Star nods, and the league's all-time triple-double record.
On Wednesday, reports showed that both the Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards offered the 37-year-old a contract for the lowest allowed salary. However, according to ESPN's Shams Charania, he chose to walk away on his own terms rather than finish his career as a bench piece.
He posted a career retrospective video to announce his retirement, narrated by actor Michael B. Jordan. He captioned the post: "Sometimes you don't even know when you've already watched the end. You had to be there. And now it's over."
Tributes poured in from across the NBA, and Klay Thompson was among those deeply moved by the news. Speaking on PlaqueBoyMax's livestream, the Dallas Mavericks sharpshooter didn't hide how the retirement landed.
“Seeing Russ hang it up kind of made me a little emotional because we had so many great battles, and he's one of the greatest players of our generation,” Thompson shared.
“Seeing Russ hang it up kind of made me a little emotional because we had so many great battles, and he’s one of the greatest players of our generation.”
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 14, 2026
- Klay Thompson
(h/t @yoxics ) pic.twitter.com/xNK9cFtRyn
Those epic battles started around the mid-2010s when Thompson's Golden State Warriors and Westbrook's Oklahoma City Thunder were two of the best teams. Their most memorable clash came in the 2016 Western Conference Finals.
Westbrook's team was winning 3 games to 1, but Golden State made an unexpected comeback. In Game 6, Thompson scored 41 points to win the game and eventually knock the Thunder out of the playoffs.
After that loss, Westbrook never made it back to that deep playoff round with Oklahoma City. He finished his career without winning a championship ring. This is the only major achievement missing from his otherwise incredible career.
Thompson is now 36 years old. He previously missed two straight years of his career due to back-to-back ACL and Achilles injuries, which makes seeing Westbrook retire a reality check.
"Yeah. Oh my gosh, I'm old. Where does time go?" Thompson said in the same conversation.
Westbrook exits the league fifth all-time in assists and 14th in scoring, numbers that will headline a Hall of Fame case once he's eligible. Meanwhile, Thompson is still playing and chasing another championship with the Mavs.
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