Russell Westbrook has rewritten the NBA record books with his 182nd career triple-double, passing Oscar Robertson last night.
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The Brody has been one of the most polarizing NBA players of all time for no good reason. This is a man who epitomizes the word ‘hustle’ in the purest sense. Russell has the ability to do things that no one else on the planet can even dream of matching.
Westbrook has been so dominant at compiling triple-doubles that he’s singlehandedly made them unremarkable altogether. There was a time when a triple-double by any player against any opposition would make the SportsCenter highlight reels. Well, not anymore.
But even by Russ’s standards, he’s been having a historically unique run over the past couple of months. Westbrook has 22 triple-doubles in his last 26 games – 2 of those 4 misses was by a margin of just 1 assist.
His averages in the past 5 games are – there’s no other word for it – MENTAL. He’s averaging 23.4 points, 16.4 rebounds and 18.8 assists per game. Think about that for a second.
Russell Westbrook pays tribute to Oscar Robertson after passing his record
Westbrook crossed Big O last night with a performance for the ages, as evidenced by his statline. The Brody had a thrilling 28 point, 13 rebound, 21 assist performance that ended in a 1-point loss for the Wizards.
His agonizing miss on the game-winning attempt notwithstanding, tonight is genuinely a night for Russ to take it easy on himself. Even he realizes this, as he acknowledged in the post-game presser:
“I’m truly grateful for moments like this. Normally, I don’t like to pat myself on the back, but tonight I will, just because I’m so grateful for the ones before me.”
Oscar Robertson took 100 more games to reach his total of 181 triple-doubles. The game was also a lot faster in his era, making rebounds and assists a much more common commodity. The Brody will likely retire with 250+, if he manages to stay injury-free over the next 3 years.
