For the 18th year of his career, the former LA Clipper and 2017 MVP, Russell Westbrook, will be playing for the Sacramento Kings. This news took place at the perfect time, as the Kings’ regular season begins in a week on the road against the Phoenix Suns.
BREAKING: Nine-time NBA All-Star Russell Westbrook has agreed on a deal to sign with the Sacramento Kings, Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports Management tells ESPN. The 2017 league MVP enters his 18th NBA season. pic.twitter.com/Y0SrfKJrcf
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 15, 2025
Kings fans should be hyped that Westbrook is going to showcase tons of passion and effort to get Sacramento into the playoffs. He is a nine-time All-Star with multiple assist titles to his name, and made the top ten in Sixth Man of the Year voting over the last two seasons for the Denver Nuggets and Clippers.
But, despite all of his accomplishments and success in the league, Clipper Nation knows the version the Kings are getting of Westbrook now should not be confused with how he was playing a decade ago.
Russell Westbrook’s weakness will be on display with the Kings more than ever before
The LA Clippers had the talent to cover Russell Westbrook’s inefficiencies and weaknesses beyond the arc. Yet, head coach Tyronn Lue was only able to crack the code for about half of a season, as in 2022-23, there were many instances where he did not look like the same player.
The Denver Nuggets approached Westbrook with the exact same mentality and utilized Westbrook for his strengths, with a strong attempt made to hide the fact that, as a six-foot-three point guard, his strongest attribute was not shooting the basketball.
Similar to the Clippers, Westbrook’s tenure primarily spiraled in the playoffs, as in the second round of last season versus the Oklahoma City Thunder, he averaged 9.9 points, shooting 34.8% from the field and 21.9% from a distance.
Moreover, the Sacramento Kings have a well-rounded roster, with multiple stars in Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, and DeMar DeRozan, but their scheme is simply not fit for Westbrook’s game.
The Kings were already doomed from outside the three-point line, as DeRozan is not known to excel from outside the three-point line, and neither is Dennis Schroder, who will be co-existing with Westbrook in the backcourt.
These three on the court at the same time will lead to the most predictable disaster, forcing Sacramento’s front office to make a trade-deadline decision on one of them mid-February.
That said, the Kings needed a sound three-point shooter to balance their lineups, and with this knowledge, they went after a big name that has been on multiple different teams over the last six seasons.