MR. TRIPLE DOUBLE
DON’T BLAME RUSSELL WESTBROOK FOR MAKING NBA HISTORY LOOK SO EASY
This is a bask etball magazine, y es, but do y ou r emember NFL Hall o f Famer Barry Sander s?
Man, he w as spec tacular. He did things on the field tha t pr eviously w ere unthink able. No t the most daunting specimen among his peer s, he mor e than made up f or it with unriv aled sheer athleticism. He se t r ecords. He earned an MVP A ward with a legendary season. F ellow pla yers ador ed him. Unf ortunately as jus t one piece in a t eam sport, he ne ver accomplished the pos tseason success his t alent w arranted.
Sound familiar?
Sanders may have been unmatched on the gridiron. But on the basketball court, his counterpart is Russell Westbrook. We’ve never seen anything like either of them. Despite setting records and carrying their respective franchises to unseen heights, each had a large contingent of detractors. And, honestly, it’s a shame. Debating about all-time rankings and legend hierarchy is fine. But let’s not lose sight of the big picture. Westbrook, like Sanders before him, is special. What he is doing is unheard of. It’s as amazing as anything happening in Dr. James Naismith’s game.
e theme of this story is appreciation. Actually - in true Westbrook form - it’s about attacking the lack of appreciation, like Russ attacks the basket. Drop the narratives. Forget the politics of the league. e fact is: Russell Westbrook is a great player with a fun nickname: e Brodie.
But that’s not what makes him special. Aer all, the NBA is full of great athletes. Westbrook is a great athlete who approaches his game the right way. He’s legendary for being the first one at the gym every day. He’s played through a multitude of injuries. He sets a high standard for himself and demands his teammates match it.
It’s no coincidence he’s consistently on winning teams.
“We have a guy who pushes us every night. Russ pushes me. He pushes everybody to be ready to go,” Wizards teammate Bradley Beal told e Athletic. “And I think that’s something I’ve definitely channeled this year, just making sure that I’m ready to compete on a nightly basis.”
On May 10 this year, Westbrook - all 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds of him - broke Oscar Robertson’s career tripledouble record. Oscar Robertson! It was the Joe DiMaggio 56game hit streak of NBA records. No one thought it could be touched. But at 32 and still in his prime, Westbrook became Mr. Triple-Double. It’s an individual accomplishment that leads to team success. Westbrook’s teams are 136-45 when he nets a triple-double. at’s a 75 percent win percentage.
“It’s a seek-and-destroy mentality,” Washington coach Scott Brooks said. “is guy is different. He’s built different. He’s wired different.”
Not bad for a guy who initially was considered overdraed coming out of UCLA. at thought didn’t age well.
“My motto is ‘Why not?’ at’s how I live and that’s how I think,” Westbrook said aer his 182nd triple-double. “Each and every time I step on the floor, I try to do things that people said I can’t do over the years and proving people wrong.”
HIGHEST VALUE
Earning an MVP does not mean automatic induction into the Hall of Fame, but it’s a pretty reliable metric. Only Derek Rose holds the distinction of winning the award without s current or obvious future HOF status. Westbrook earned his three-letter award by averaging a triple-double in 2016-17 - the first to do so since Robertson in 1962.
Kevin Durant had just ditched Russ and Oklahoma City for Silicon Valley. Future All-Stars Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis were on the under roster, but neither was ready for prime time. Some guy named Joffrey Lauvergne logged the 10th most minutes on the team. For perspective, fih place Utah had Derrick Favors as its 10th most minutes man. Westbrook carried OKC to a 47-35 record and sixth place finish in the loaded Western Conference. It was certainly impressive.
Westbrooks detractors have spent the remaining years diminishing the MVP. e crux of their argument is that the triple-double is overrated. e evidence? He averaged it three of the next four seasons, including 2020-21. ey figure if he’s doing it almost annually, how tough can it really be?
Of course that thinking is just absurd.
But maybe not all that surprising, especially since the aforementioned Sanders’ MVP was immediately diminished because he had to share it with Brett Favre, despite being the third player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards.
LASTING LEGACY
Football fans born aer Sanders retired recognize his brilliance thanks to social media. And Westbrook, too, will live on through the interwebs. Still, sports is sometimes an unfair arena. ere are winners, and there are losers. e odds of Westbrook raising the Larry O’Brien Trophy as an NBA champion seem to become slimmer by the year. And with that, his legacy will take a hit. e doubters will claim victory.
But winning an NBA championship is tough. In a league of giants, only Isiah omas and Stephen Curry have led their team to a title as smaller guards.
“I think it’s ridiculous that some sportswriters criticize him because he hasn’t won a championship,” Robertson told e New York Times. “Players don’t win championships by themselves. You’ve got to have good management. You need to get with the right group of players.”
So he’s not LeBron or Steph. So he doesn’t possess all-time physical skills like a Durant. So he can’t shoot like James Harden. He’s had some star teammates leave him to play in L.A. and Brooklyn - each time forming the league’s latest Super Team. So what?
Westbrook is doing what others told him he couldn’t. He continues to maximize his talent. He’s never backed down from a fight. His peers swear by him. e legends love him.
If that’s not enough, that’s a you problem.