OKC Thunder: Russell Westbrook’s Month in Review

Over the past month, Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook has been the most productive player in the NBA. More significantly, he’s been one of the most productive contributors in NBA history.

The numbers speak for themselves:

Westbrook also picked up 1.6 steals per contest while shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 91.3 percent from the free throw line.

For those unfamiliar, Oscar Robertson is the only player in NBA history to average a triple-double over the course of a full season. He achieved the feat in 1961-62, but Robertson also came within 1.0 rebound or assist of an averaged triple-double in four other campaigns.

For Westbrook to be recognized in a similar regard, albeit in a shorter period of time, is nothing short of extraordinary.

The highlight of the 26-year-old’s month was a string of games unlike anything we’ve seen in the past five seasons.

He was dominant as a scorer, took over as a facilitator and pulled down boards at an elite level. He did all of this with remarkable consistency and extraordinary balance.

The end result was Westbrook recording a triple-double in three consecutive games—something that hadn’t been done since LeBron James did it in March of 2009.

The standout performance in that brilliant string of games was a triple-double with 40 points:

In total, Westbrook recorded four triple-doubles and an additional five double-doubles in 13 February games played.

If that still isn’t enough for you, try this: Westbrook hit 45 consecutive free throws and had another statistically significant streak pertaining to the number 45.

Westbrook followed the first of two 45-point performances with a career-high 48 points, 11 assists, nine rebounds and four steals. In total, he had four 40-point games in February.

That’s a major reason Westbrook is No. 2 in the NBA at 26.5 points per game.

As a facilitator, Westbrook matched a career-high with 17 assists in 27 minutes during a 119-94 victory over the Denver Nuggets. He had 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting in that game.

It was one of eight games with at least 10 assists and it came in the midst of six such consecutive outings.

Statistically speaking, the Thunder’s enigmatic star experienced one of the greatest months in NBA history. He’s long been a Top 10 player, but 2014-15 has been his true breakout season.

With less of an erratic nature, Westbrook has utilized Kevin Durant‘s absence to become a candidate for league MVP.

At some point, I’ll run out of adjectives. I’ll go with splendiferous.

Westbrook shot 90 percent from the free throw line on 10.6 attempts per contest. He shot 15-of-15 from the charity stripe in two of those appearances and 14-of-14 in another.

To top it all off, Westbrook won All-Star Game MVP with 41 points, including an All-Star record 27 in the first half.

Most importantly, Westbrook led OKC to a 10-3 record in his 13 appearances.

From start-to-finish, Westbrook was otherworldly. Comparatively, this was the best month of any player thus far in 2014-15.

The only question remaining is the question of the hour: can Westbrook maintain this Robertson-esque pace?

If he does, can anyone stop him from winning NBA MVP?

Next: Westbrook's No. 1 rival for 2014-15 NBA MVP is a former teammate

More from Hoops Habit

• The 5 most dominant NBA players who never won a championship
• 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
• Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
• Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
• Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout