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Russell Westbrook Makes Good And Bad History With Latest Triple-Double

By Mark Suleymanov
Published on: 03:32 PST, Jan 14, 2017

Triple-doubles used to be a special occurrence in the NBA, but Russell Westbrook has made it a nightly expectation.

The Oklahoma City Thunder superstar struck again last night as his team was on the road to face the Minnesota Timberwolves. Westbrook posted 21 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds. However, it was a double-double’s from Karl-Anthony Towns (29 points, 17 rebounds) and Ricky Rubio (14 points, 14 assists) that prevailed on Friday night as Minnesota defeated Oklahoma City, 96-86.

After the game, a disappointed Westbrook spoke about the significance of his performance.

”It don’t mean s**t,” Westbrook said (via Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman). ”We lost.”

While he’s right that his triple-double did not lead the team to victory, it did catapult him further into the record books.

Friday’s triple-double was Westbrook’s 19th of the year which is one more than he had all of last season. The 28-year-old has also played 41 games this season, meaning that nearly half of his games have featured a triple-double.

As noted by ESPN Stats & Info, Westbrook’s 19 triple-doubles are the most in a single season since Wilt Chamberlain had 31 during the 1967-68 season. Also, Westbrook’s 56 career triple-doubles put him just three shy of tying Larry Bird for fifth most all-time.

[Image by Bob Levey/Getty Images]

However, Friday’s performance was Westbrook’s least productive triple-double of the season. Of the 19 he has recorded this season, Friday’s game featured the lowest field goal percentage (.304) and tied for the highest amount of turnovers (10).

In a 101-92 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on December 4, Westbrook had 28 points, 17 rebounds, 12 assists, and 10 turnovers. The Long Beach, California, native took responsibility for his up-and-down performance.

”Just some miscues, my fault on my passes,” Westbrook said. ‘

“Some were open, some was not. But it happens.”

Halfway through the season, the Thunder are in pretty good shape. Despite the offseason departure of Kevin Durant, the team’s 24-17 record puts the team in seventh place in the western conference. The eighth seed Portland Trail Blazers have a losing record (18-24) and sit 6.5 games behind the Thunder. If this trend holds up, Oklahoma City should have no trouble maintaining or improving from the seventh seed.

[Image by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images]

The play of Westbrook will be key to the Thunder’s success. He is averaging a triple-double on the season with 30.8 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 10.5 assists and it’s January 14. The last and only player to average a triple-double for an entire season was Oscar Robertson during the 1961-62 season.

But to give more perspective on the type of season Westbrook is having, he’s only the second player in NBA history to average 30 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds through a team’s first 40 games.

With so many new records and stats pertaining to Westbrook coming out each day, the pressure to keep delivering has also remained. Westbrook’s aforementioned comments about not caring if he reaches a triple-double has been a constant all season. The most telling instance was when he snapped at reporters in mid-December about the big deal people are making about his triple-doubles.

“Honestly, man, people and this triple-double thing is kind of getting on my nerves,” Westbrook told USA Today. “People think if I don’t get it, it’s like a big thing. When I do get it, it’s a thing. If y’all just let me play…. If I get it, I get it. If I don’t, I don’t. It is what it is. I really don’t care.”

“For the 100th time, I don’t care.”

[Featured Image by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images]

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