Westbrook played high school basketball for Leuzinger High School, before heading to play for UCLA. Westbrook played two years at UCLA before declaring for the 2008 NBA Draft. He was drafted by the Thunder's former incarnation, the Seattle SuperSonics, which relocated from Seattle to Oklahoma City six days after the draft.

Westbrook was also a member of the 2010 United States national team. Over his career, Westbrook has been an All-Star several times, a member of the All-NBA Second Team several times,  and a member of the NBA All-Rookie First Team. Westbrook represented the United States in the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Turkey where he won a gold medal. He was a member of the 2012 USA Olympic Gold Medal winning baketball team.