TRIPLE-DOUBLE CROWN
Westbrook makes feat look easy as he ties Robertson record
Through the first four seasons of his NBA career, Russell Westbrook accumulated eight triple-doubles. He scored, rebounded and created assists, but there was no overt sign he would develop into the tripledouble king.
That slowly began to change in 2014-15 when he recorded 11 triple-doubles, then 18 the following season. By 2016-17, he was a triple-double machine, setting a single-season record with 42 in 2016-17, the first season he averaged a triple-double, earning him an MVP award.
He continues to ring up triple-doubles, and on Saturday night, he tied Oscar Robertson’s all-time record of 181. Westbrook had 33 points, 19 rebounds and 15 assists in the Wizards’ 133-132 overtime victory against the Pacers.
“I take a lot of pride in doing everything to impact winning as much as I can and leave it on the floor,” Westbrook said.
“To be in the conversation with Oscar, I want to thank him because he set the stage and sacrificed a lot of things for us to be able to go out and play. The times he played in and the things he was able to do back in the day has allowed me to be able to do the things I want to do today. I am just grateful for him, his words and appreciative of his support as well.”
Westbrook secured the record-tying triple-double late in the third quarter, but he saved his biggest plays for the close of overtime when the Wizards needed them. And his very biggest came on the defensive end of the floor.
With Bradley Beal sitting out overtime with a hamstring injury, Westbrook scored or assisted on all nine of the Wizards’ points in the extra period.
“I don’t think about it,” Westbrook said of tripledouble records. “I just go out and have fun and hoop. At the end of the day, when my journey is done and I’m done playing basketball, I can think of some of the crazy stat lines – the good, the bad, the ugly – and be thankful. I’m thankful for it all.”
Westbrook is one of the most scrutinized and underappreciated All-Stars. In the NBA’s Age of Efficiency, Westbrook’s game – sometimes filled with bad shots and turnovers – doesn’t fit neatly into a model.
He plays hard, produces, and, throughout his career, he wins way more often than he loses. A look at his mastery of the triple-double in his NBA career.
Player with the most triple-doubles in NBA history
Westbrook already holds the NBA record for consecutive games with a triple-double, which he broke in 2019 with an 11-game run from Jan. 22 to Feb. 14.
After an uneven season with just eight triple-dou
bles with Houston in 2019-20, the Wizards star rejuvenated his high-energy impact – 35 triple-doubles this season – under coach Scott Brooks who coached Westbrook in Oklahoma City and may be his staunchest supporter in a sea of unsatisfied critics.
Triple-double nuances
“He’s amazing,” Brooks said after a recent 21-rebound, 24-assist tripledouble. “Everybody’s described him in so many different ways. I’ve been fortunate enough to see him (as his coach) for eight years and do a lot of things that are pretty much superhuman at times. Point guards don’t do what he does. They’re not built that way. … There’s nobody in the history of the game that can do what he does throughout the stat sheet.”
Consider some of Westbrook’s single-game, triple-double accomplishments:
h With 20-plus assists: Five.
h With 20-plus rebounds: Three.
h With 30-plus points: 47, including a 57-point, 13-rebound, 11-assist performance on March 29, 2017.
Only three times in NBA history has a player had both 20 assists and 20 rebounds in a triple-double. Westbrook has done it twice.
Triple-doubles translate to wins
All these points, assists and rebounds have not just been good for Westbrook’s career stat lines; they’ve helped power 134 wins for the Thunder, Rockets and Wizards combined.