Russell Westbrook Lands With the Kings for 18th NBA Season

The nine-time All-Star will be playing for his seventh team.
Russell Westbrook will play his 18th NBA season with the Kings.
Russell Westbrook will play his 18th NBA season with the Kings. / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
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Russell Westbrook will land with the Sacramento Kings for the 2025-26 season after agreeing to sign a deal with the team on Wednesday, ESPN's Shams Charania reported.

This will be Westbrook's 18th NBA season and the seventh team he's played for in his career. He's coming off one season with the Nuggets.

The nine-time All-Star declined his player option with Denver back in June, making him a free agent as of June 30. He's been connected with a few teams since then, including the Knicks, but he ended up with the Kings in the end. Sports Illustrated recently named the Kings as one of Westbrook's top landing spots in free agency this offseason.

Last season, Westbrook averaged 13.1 points, 6.1 assists and 4.9 rebounds a game in 27 minutes. He came off the bench in 39 of the 75 games he played for Denver.

The Kings ended last season with a 40-42 record and missed the playoffs. Westbrook's competed in 14 postseasons in his career, including the last three years. He'll be looking to continue that streak in Sacramento this upcoming season. The Kings open up their 2025-26 season on Wednesday, Oct. 22 against the Suns.


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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.