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.”

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.”