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Russell Westbrook III (born November 12, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, Westbrook made his NBA debut in 2008 and became a star as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. He has played for six NBA teams.
Westbrook played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins and earned third-team all-conference honors in the Pac-10. He was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics, who then relocated to Oklahoma City that same week. Westbrook played for the Thunder for 11 seasons and is the team's all-time leading scorer. He appeared in the NBA Finals as a member of the Thunder in 2012, losing to the Miami Heat. In 2019, Westbrook was traded to the Houston Rockets, playing one season for the organization before being traded again to the Washington Wizards in 2020. After a season in Washington, he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2021. Following two relatively disappointing seasons with the Lakers, Westbrook was traded to the Utah Jazz in 2023 and was bought out of his contract, joining the Los Angeles Clippers later in the 2022–23 season.
A member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, Westbrook is a nine-time NBA All-Star and earned the NBA Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) for the 2016–17 season. He is also a nine-time All-NBA Team member; a two-time NBA scoring leader, having led the league in 2014–15 and 2016–17; a three-time NBA assists leader; and a back-to-back NBA All-Star Game MVP. Westbrook is one of two players in NBA history to average a triple-double for a season. He has achieved that feat four times and is the all-time NBA leader in career triple-doubles. Westbrook is known for his ability to score near the basket, his rebounding, his durability, and his intensity as a competitor.
Westbrook has represented the United States national team twice, winning gold medals in the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Olympics.