Russell Westbrook

Westbrook married Nina Earl in 2015 after they met while both were playing basketball at UCLA. They have three children, a son named Noah and twin daughters named Skye and Jordyn.

He established the Russell Westbrook Why Not? Foundation in 2012. The foundation promotes community-based education and family service programs. Westbrook also honors his childhood friend Khelcey Barrs III by wearing a "KB3" wristband and marking the initials on his sneakers.

Westbrook grew up in Hawthorne, California, and attended Leuzinger High School. He entered high school as an undersized point guard and did not become a varsity starter until his junior year. During his senior season, he averaged 25.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, helped lead Leuzinger to a 25-4 record, and scored a career-high 51 points in one game.

He played for the UCLA Bruins from 2006 to 2008. Initially a reserve defender behind Darren Collison, Westbrook became a starter during his second season and averaged 12.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. He was named Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year and third-team All-Pac-10, while UCLA reached the Final Four in both of his seasons. Westbrook left college after two years to enter the 2008 NBA draft.

The Seattle SuperSonics selected Westbrook fourth overall in the 2008 NBA draft. The franchise relocated to Oklahoma City shortly afterward and became the Thunder. Westbrook played 11 seasons in Oklahoma City, became the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, and formed a celebrated partnership with Kevin Durant. The Thunder reached the NBA Finals in 2012, where they lost to the Miami Heat in five games.

After Durant left Oklahoma City in 2016, Westbrook became the Thunder’s central star. In the 2016-17 season, he averaged a triple-double, led the league with 31.6 points per game, set an NBA record with 42 triple-doubles, and won the MVP award. He also averaged a triple-double in each of the next two seasons, although Oklahoma City was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs both times.

Westbrook’s style combined full-speed drives, transition attacks, rebounding, and playmaking from the point guard position. He averaged at least 20 points, six rebounds, and eight assists per game over his NBA career, and his combination of scoring, passing, and rebounding helped redefine expectations for an athletic, ball-dominant point guard.

Oklahoma City traded Westbrook to the Houston Rockets in 2019, reuniting him with James Harden, a former Thunder teammate. He then played for the Washington Wizards, where he averaged a triple-double for the fourth time and led the league with 11.7 assists per game. In 2021, he joined the Los Angeles Lakers alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Westbrook came off the bench for the first time in his career during the 2022-23 season with the Lakers. He was traded to the Utah Jazz in February 2023, bought out, and signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, where he reunited with former Thunder teammate Paul George. During the 2023-24 season, he became the 25th player in NBA history to reach 25,000 career points.

He finished his career with the Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings. In November 2024, he became the first player in NBA history to record 200 career triple-doubles. He later reached 10,000 career assists and surpassed Oscar Robertson as the highest-scoring point guard in NBA history. Westbrook announced his retirement from professional basketball in August 2026.

Westbrook represented the United States at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey. The United States went undefeated and won its first world championship since 1994, with Westbrook ranking among the team’s leading contributors in minutes, points, and assists.

He also played for the United States at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The team won the gold medal, giving Westbrook his second major international title with the national team.