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Breaking Down Russell Westbrook’s Amazing Triple-Double Run

By Mark Vandeusen

Mar 4, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) reacts after a play against the Philadelphia 76ers during the second quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 4, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) reacts after a play against the Philadelphia 76ers during the second quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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On Wednesday night, Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder had himself a game.

In the Thunder’s 123-118 overtime victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, Westbrook’s final box score read 49 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists, one block and three steals.  It marked the fourth consecutive game that Westbrook posted a triple-double.  It’s a feat no NBA player had accomplished in 26 years:

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That’s just the tip of the iceberg for how rare Westbrook’s spectacular performance was.

In the history of the NBA, only five players ever previously record triple-doubles in four straight games: Jordan, Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson and Maurice Stokes.

Both the 49 points and the 16 rebounds were new career highs for Westbrook.  The 49 points were also enough to lift his season average up to an even 27.0 per game, taking over the league’s scoring lead from James Harden (26.9).

The last player to net 49 points in a triple-double was Larry Bird, on March 15, 1992.  

Along with Westbrook’s on Wednesday, they are the two highest scoring triple-doubles on record as far back as Basketball-Reference.com keeps track (1985-86). Westbrook and Vince Carter are also the only two players in that time to post stat lines of 45-15-10 or better.  

To no surprise, when you plug Westbrook’s exact 49-16-10 into the database, no other player’s names come up.  Elias Sports was able to research the 45-15-10 line as far back as 1968:  

In Westbrook’s previous outing he put up 40 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in a 115-112 loss in Portland on Feb. 27.  Only two other players in NBA history ever strung together back-to-back 40-point triple-doubles–Jordan and Pete Maravich.

During an overtime defeat in Phoenix on Feb. 26, Westbrook tallied 39 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists.  His three straight triple-doubles with at least 35 points put him in an elite club of which Robertson is the only other member:

In the first triple-double of the streak Westbrook logged 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a victory over the Indiana Pacers on Feb. 24.  Amazingly, he nearly managed triple-doubles in each of the two previous contests before that as well:

Feb. 22, a 119-94 win over the Denver Nuggets, 21 points, eight rebounds, 17 assists.

Feb. 21, a 110-103 victory in Charlotte, 33 points, seven rebounds, 10 assists.

Over his last six games, Westbrook is averaging 33.7 points, 11.5 rebounds and 11.5 assists.

It’s an absolutely mind-blowing set of numbers.  However, it is worth wondering what effect Westbrook’s dominating statistics are having on his team.  In his recent streak of four straight triple-doubles, the Thunder’s record is 2-2.  They needed overtime to knock off the lowly 76ers at home in order to avoid being 1-3.

Against Philadelphia, Oklahoma City’s other four starters took just 15 shots combined, compared to Westbrook’s 33.  The rest of them scored a total of only 12 points, while no other starter registered a single assist.  Overall Westbrook took 34 percent (33 of 96) of his team’s shots for the game.

In the loss to the Suns, Westbrook made 12-of-38 field goal attempts (32 percent), while hoisting 38 percent (38 of 101) of his squad’s total shots.

There’s no question Westbrook is in the midst of an extraordinary run, but it’s unclear how beneficial it is to the Thunder.

Next: Evan Turner Joins Unlikely List Of All-Time Celtics Triple-Doubles

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