Eddie Johnson doesn’t have to imagine what a European title run feels like. Back in 1994-95, having played thirteen NBA seasons, Johnson signed with Olympiacos and walked away with a Greek League championship and Finals MVP trophy, all while living in a four-level house overlooking the Saronic Gulf near Athens. He still calls it the time of his life. That memory is exactly why, three decades later, he’s the one telling Russell Westbrook not to let his career end quietly.

On SiriusXM NBA Radio, Johnson made the case directly to Westbrook: “Like he said, he loves to play ball. And Europe is the next best thing to have that feeling of like, okay, like winning the game and walking out after the game. You got 1,000 fans out there screaming your name. Like you still live that dream, and guess what on top of that?”

Westbrook announced his retirement on August 12, closing an 18-season run with a video narrated by actor Michael B. Jordan, capped by a career total of 209 triple-doubles, the most in NBA history. But just a day earlier, in an interview with CNN’s Elex Michaelson, Westbrook had said: “I love playing basketball. If it happens, it works… that’s my plan.”

That quickly turned into “I’m retired,” and he left the game as the NBA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles, the 2017 MVP, and a 2012 Olympic gold medalist, having averaged 20.9 points, 8.0 assists, and 6.9 rebounds across more than 1,300 regular-season appearances. The call came after a final season in Sacramento, where he started 58 of 64 games and put up 15.2 points and 6.7 assists a night. And many analysts reckon that the retirement came with the backdrop that Westbrook wasn’t interested in returning to the Kings in a reduced role behind Darius Acuff Jr., the seventh overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. He wanted to keep playing basketball as he always had. Hence, Johnson added:

“You’re not making NBA money, but you’re making damn good money. And like I said, his brand and now bringing his brand over there would enhance it even more. That’s sort of like what Michael did. They’re not going to play you, and it can really get bad. Go over to Europe. Go over to Europe, my man. Go over there and average 20-something. Go over there and be the best player in Europe. Drag your team to a European championship, which is one of the best events you would ever attend. Ever.”

Exits couldn’t always hold Michael Jordan back, as they kept turning into preludes to comebacks. The retirement in 1993, the detour into baseball, and the 1995 return that added three more championships to his name. So, Johnson’s advice for Westbrook points toward that same kind of finish, one more run at the top on a different continent, in keeping with the “Why Not” mantra that defined his eighteen years in the league.

Moreover, starting in late July, reports from NBA insider Evan Sidery and European basketball reporter Gerard Solé began linking Westbrook to Panathinaikos, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Dubai Basketball, all while the NBA offers stayed cold. And the path Johnson is describing already has a track record: Kendrick Nunn left the NBA for Panathinaikos and became one of EuroLeague’s top guards, Lonnie Walker IV won a EuroLeague Round MVP with Maccabi Tel Aviv, and Talen Horton-Tucker has produced steadily for Fenerbahce.

For Westbrook, who at 37 had his best averages since 2022-23 last season, the physical tools clearly haven’t disappeared. What Johnson is offering is a rerouting of sorts, one he’s lived himself, toward the version of basketball that still lets you do what you do best on the floor.