Westbrook flirts with rare feat
Thunder star averaging a triple-double
ORE. For anyone with even a passing interest in the NBA, it has reached the point where you have to clear the evening schedule whenever Russell Westbrook is taking the court.
The Oklahoma City Thunder star has been a one-man highlight show this season, an absolute blur on the court whose speed, skill and high-flying, ferocious style have him threatening to pull off one of the game’s rarest achievements: a triple-double season, otherwise known as Oscar Robertson territory.
With averages of 31.1 points, 11 assists and 10.9 rebounds entering Tuesday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Westbrook is on pace to join Robertson as the only players to achieve that feat. (Robertson did it in the 1961-62 season.) And while Westbrook’s focus is elsewhere — on the fact that his post-Kevin Durant play has carried the Thunder to a surprising 15-9 mark that is one game off their pace from last season — he took a moment to acknowledge the historical context at the team shoot-around Tuesday.
Of all the names that have entered this conversation because of Westbrook’s play, titans of the game such as Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, Robertson’s is the
most applicable because of how his skill set compared to Westbrook’s. Not only is he the tripledouble king — a league-record 181, compared with Westbrook’s 49, with Johnson, Jason Kidd, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird between them — but he was a devastating scorer and an elite playmaker in ways that even those other greats weren’t.
Robertson, who won his lone championship alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1971, came painfully close to averaging a triple-double four other times in his career and averaged 25.7 points, 9.5 assists and 7.5 assists in his 14 seasons. Westbrook, by comparison, has averaged 21.8 points 7.7 assists and 5.8 rebounds in his nine seasons.
It’s enough to make you wonder if the two men have ever compared notes. Sadly, they have not — not yet, anyway.
“I’ve met him,” Westbrook said of Robertson. “I don’t know him (well enough to) sit down (and) have a conversation-type relationship, but I’ve met him before. I haven’t really talked basketball with him before to be able to say that.
“But whenever you get the opportunity to be mentioned with those guys — him, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson — those guys, it’s a blessing. It’s something I never take for granted. I definitely don’t want that to go out the window, but at the same time I always like to live in the moment.”
It makes perfect sense for someone whose moments tend to be so magical.
“Live in the moment to be able to find ways to help others,” said Westbrook, who trails only a former Thunder teammate, the Houston Rockets’ James Harden, in assists (11.6 per game). “I think that’s what made those players so great — Magic, MJ, Oscar. They did it by winning some championships (and) by also helping the guys around them. That’s what I want to do.”
Westbrook’s close relationship with Jordan is well-chronicled. He signed an endorsement deal with the Jordan Brand in 2012, launched his first signature shoe with His Airness in 2015 and made headlines under Jordan’s corporate umbrella in late October with the airing of a commercial that many believed to be a subtle shot at Durant. (It included Westbrook dancing to the lyrics for Do What I Want on a virtual loop as the song by rapper-songwriter Lil Uzi Vert played.)
Weeks later, the two again created a stir when Jordan — as part of his speech honoring Westbrook for his induction in the Oklahoma Hall of Fame — seemed to reference Durant’s departure while praising Westbrook and drew laughs from the Thunder-loving crowd. What’s more, the inherent nature of Jordan’s role as lead owner of the Charlotte Hornets means he crosses paths with Westbrook on a relatively routine basis. The two have had plenty to talk about of late, what with Westbrook becoming the first player since Jordan in 1989 to tally seven consecutive triple-doubles. (That streak ended Sunday.)
Johnson is easy to find in NBA circles, too, especially now that he decided to re-sign with ESPN as an analyst. With his standing as the second-best triple-double threat in league history (138), the Los Angeles Lakers legend can rest easy knowing Westbrook has a long way to go to catch up.
But while Robertson is the only one who can truly relate to what Westbrook is doing, Westbrook made it clear he’s leaning on his inner circle for feedback. It is, he explained, an easy way to make sure this stunning display continues.
“My dad, brother and wife — they keep it honest with me,” said Westbrook, a Southern California native and UCLA product who noted that his mother steers clear of the hoops conversations. “That’s the most important part, my friends as well. That’s the best part, to be able to be honest with me about my game and where they see how I can get better. Those talks have been every day.
“I don’t like to come home to, ‘Oh, great game,’ and pat on the ass. That’s not what happens at my house. My house is trying to find ways to get better, find ways to be able to improve, help your teammates, to help win, win championships. My goal is not to worry about numbers, man.”
The numbers, nonetheless, just keep piling up. And the Westbrook Show goes on.