Russell Westbrook Closing In On All-Time Triple-Double Mark
Russell Westbrook is on the precipice of matching one of the most hallowed accomplishments in NBA history and is on the verge of matching the record for most triple-doubles in a season.
When Oscar Robertson tallied the lone triple-double average during the 1961-62 season, with 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists, he recorded an unfathomable 41 triple-doubles to reach the gaudy figures. It took 55 years before a serious challenger emerged, but Russell Westbrook is on the verge of matching that mark.
Westbrook possesses the rare combination of exceptional scoring, a knack for setting up easy baskets for teammates and the innate ability to chase down errant shots.
In his ninth season, and first without superstar Kevin Durant, Westbrook is leading the league in scoring at 31.9 points, has dished out the third most assists at 10.4 per game and his 10.6 rebounds per game has him tied with Marcin Gorat for the 10th-most in the league.
Westbrook even has made Robertson a fan of his play, as he is on the verge of becoming just the second player ever to post a triple-double average for an entire year.
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If Westbrook is able to post another triple-double Wednesday night against the Bucks, the same franchise where Roberston won his lone NBA championship, it will be his 41st of the year, matching a seemingly unreachable mark.
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Since Robertson accumulated the triple-double total, only one player, Wilt Chamberlain in 1967-68, even came remotely close when he logged 31 triple-doubles.
Prior to the start of the 2016-17 campaign, no other player had logged even 20 triple-doubles.
It took Westbrook just two games sans Durant to post his first triple-double this season, as he torched the Suns for 51 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists after falling just one assist shy against Philadelphia in the season opener.
Ever since, the rest of the league hasn’t been able to find a solution for Westbrook’s dominance.
This season alone, 26 of the NBA’s other 29 teams have allowed a triple-double to Westbrook, with Milwaukee, Chicago and Portland serving as the only teams to hold him without one this year.
The Bulls are the only team Westbrook has yet to log a triple-double against in his 663 career games.
Westbrook has posted triple-doubles in 10 of his past 12 games, became the first player to post multiple six consecutive triple-double performances in a single season and is the only player to record five consecutive triple-doubles while scoring 30 or more points.
The efforts of the 6-foot-4 guard has catapulted Oklahoma City into the post season and has him as a favorite to win MVP honors.
.@SekouSmithNBA breaks down Russell Westbrook's case for MVP... #RaceToMVP pic.twitter.com/48tto0IlZY
— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 3, 2017
The six-time All-Star is the first player 6-foot-5 or shorter since Cincinnati Royals forward Johnny Green in 1969-70, a teammate of Robertson’s that season, to average 10 or more rebounds per game.
Oklahoma City Thunder
The gap between Westbrook and the rest of the league’s point guards in rebounding is simply astonishing.
Westbrook has collected a career-high 809 errant shots this season, 446 more than Elfrid Payton, the second-leading rebounder at the point position.
Once Westbrook grabs a rebound, he becomes an instant fast break, often leading to easy points for teammates. Westbrook is averaging 1.3 assists per game off drives to the basket, the fourth most in the league.
The Oklahoma City roster is filled with players benefiting from the passing of Westbrook, with five teammates averaging one or more made shots per game off his passes and six players are shooting 50 percent or better when being set up by him.
The passing of Westbrook leads to 23.9 points per game, combined with his scoring average of 31.9 points per game, he accounts for 55.8 points per game or 52.2 percent of the Thunder’s offense.
Westbrook is just nine assists shy of joining James Harden and John Wall as the only players to dish out 800 or more assists this season.
Along with his impressive rebounding and assist figures, Westbrook is just 77 points away from becoming just the 13th player ever to score 2,500 or more points in a single season.
Durant and Kobe Bryant are the only players to surpass the 2,500 point scoring mark since 2000.
In 76 appearances this year, Westbrook has scored 30 or more points on 42 occasions and has been held below 15 points just once.
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Since the All-Star break, Westbrook is averaging just one fewer point than minute played, as he is posting 34.3 points per game and even improved perhaps the one weakness in his game.
Over the past 19 games, Westbrook has knocked down 3.1 shots a night from 3-point range, 0.7 more than his season average and 2.1 above his career average.
With triple-doubles in six consecutive games and a 14-day span since the last time he failed to register one, Westbrook has ignited the Thunder’s offense and submitted a legendary performance.
All Westbrook needs to etch his name alongside Robertson as the only players to ever average a triple-double for an season, with at least 820 rebounds and assists, are 29 assists and 11 rebounds over the next six games.
Tuesday night he can post his 41st triple-double, a seemingly unattainable number.
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Only with Westbrook, anything seems within reach.