Former Sacramento Kings player Chris Webber talks about his memoir titled “By God’s Grace” at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on April 12, 2024. The NBA Hall of Fame player shares memories of the time out, Fab Five and his other life lessons in his new book. By Paul Kitagaki Jr.
Russell Westbrook’s presence was felt in more ways than one Tuesday when he returned to the city where his NBA career began.
The former NBA MVP and future Hall of Famer received a thunderous ovation when he was announced as a starter for the Sacramento Kings during pregame introductions.
Westbrook posted 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists in a 107-101 loss to the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder before a sellout crowd of 18,203 at Paycom Center. When it was over, Westbrook was greeted outside the visitor’s locker room by numerous arena workers and members of the Thunder organization, including general manager Sam Presti, the 2025 NBA Executive of the Year, and reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“I’m always grateful and blessed,” Westbrook told The Sacramento Bee. “This is like my home. Like I’ve always said, I grew up here, so I’m always grateful for the appreciation and the people here, and I’m grateful because they’ve cheered for me at times when it was difficult.”
Russell Westbrook (18) of the Sacramento Kings goes up for a shot between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and Aaron Wiggins (21) of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half at Paycom Center on October 28, 2025 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Joshua Gateley Getty Images
The Seattle SuperSonics selected Westbrook out of UCLA with the fourth pick in the 2008 NBA draft before the team relocated to Oklahoma City. Westbrook spent his first 11 seasons with the Thunder, averaging 23.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 8.4 assists and 1.8 steals with eight All-Star appearances, eight All-NBA selections and one MVP award.
Westbrook has played for six teams in seven seasons since leaving Oklahoma City in 2019. The Kings signed him to a nonguaranteed one-year, $3.6 million veteran’s minimum contract on Oct. 16, six days before their season opener.
That was the only offer Westbrook received from an NBA team despite averaging 13.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.4 steals in a backup role for the Denver Nuggets last season. Kings guard Zach LaVine still can’t believe Westbrook was still available after a summer of skepticism and uncertainty.
“Russ is great,” LaVine said. “To be honest with you, I don’t know why nobody ever signed him. It’s really upsetting for somebody like him who’s going to be a Hall of Famer. He’s a league MVP, All-NBA, one of the dudes I’ve competed against and seen for a long time, but Russ is an all-time great. We’re just lucky to have him on this team and we’re fortunate that nobody else wanted to sign him, which makes no damn sense to me.”
Westbrook, who says he has no plans to make his 18th season his last in the NBA, shrugged off the lack of interest from other teams.
“I was really enjoying my family,” Westbrook said. “I was hanging out, taking the kids to school, picking them up. I was enjoying all that, and God’s timing is what it’s going to be. I was patient, taking my time. They called and I’m ready to go.”
High-level professional
Westbrook came off the bench in Sacramento’s first three games before being inserted into the starting lineup Tuesday. He is averaging 11.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 0.8 steals in 23.5 minutes per game while shooting 41.5% from the field and 50% from 3-point range.
In the final minutes of Sacramento’s only victory of the season, a 105-104 win over the Utah Jazz on Oct. 24 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, the 6-foot-4 Westbrook was asked to defend Lauri Markkanen, who stands 7-1.
“First of all, he’s a veteran, so he knows how to play,” Kings coach Doug Christie said of Westbrook. “One thing I know about Russ is he’s going to be highly physical and highly competitive when you’re fighting through screens and all that stuff.”
When asked what he has learned about Westbrook since he arrived, Christie said: “He’s pretty funny. What I’ve learned is Russ is a high-level professional. We have professionals in this league and we have professionals in this league, and he is the latter. The way he approaches every part of his day, his diet, his work ethic, his attention to detail, his willingness to communicate. He is high level, man.”
Westbrook joked that he was sitting on the couch days before marking his preseason debut with the Kings. Christie acknowledged that getting Westbrook up to speed has been a process.
“Basketball shape is different, and even laughing with him, having done that couch thing, there’s a timing element,” Christie said. “It’s weird. How the ball bounces off the floor and touches your hand, and that integrated with that inside-out dribble and footwork that goes with it, to be aggressive to get to the basket or shoot the ball.
“You can go into the gym and work out all you want, but then when you get people around you and you get more competitive in your mindset, and then you get another jersey across from you. All those are different steps and phases that he has to go through, not to mention the conditioning aspect of it. He’s in fantastic shape and condition, but there’s game shape and you just can’t replicate it.”
Embracing Westbrook
Teammates have embraced Westbrook since his arrival, touting his leadership and influence in the locker room.
“I think since Russ joined the team, he’s added a ton of energy, a lot of talk,” Kings rookie Maxime Raynaud said. “He really has this ability to bring people together and create this team culture.
“He’s like nonstop one of the most high-energy dudes you will ever see, and he knows everybody. He’s been in the league so long that he knows everybody on a personal level. He can connect with the guys. He initiates a lot of these team building activities like dinners and stuff, so it’s really cool to have him, and he’s also super joyful at practice and during shootaround. He’s almost like an extra assistant coach. He’s been great for us.”
Kings guard Malik Monk agreed.
“I’ve been knowing Russ since before I went to college, so I knew what kind of player he was,” Monk said. “I just didn’t know he had a big voice like he does, and he’s smart as s---, so some of the stuff we do in practice, he minimizes and tells us a smarter way to do it so we don’t have to work as much.”
Westbrook said he is happy to have found a new home in Sacramento.
“The most important part of me coming here is leadership, experience and finding a way to instill that into the organization, to be honest, and obviously now, get my feet underneath me and finding ways to be able to do that,” Westbrook said. “It’s early. It’s going to be a long year, a long process, but I’m excited for what we’ve started, and I’m excited for the future.”