Russell Westbrook is a man on a mission. He’s putting up a triple-double almost every night with the weight of an entire team on his back.
30.5 points. 10.6 assists. 10.5 rebounds. No those aren’t three random averages for three random players they all belong to one man. The triple-double machine Russell Westbrook. He’s become so automatic it’s reached a point where we expect those gaudy numbers on a routine basis.
Saturday was the latest example. Westbrook’s Oklahoma City Thunder were hosting the Phoenix Suns. In their last meeting, Russ made history with 51 points in a triple-double (the highest since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), to along with 13 rebounds and 10 assists.
Saturday was even more impressive. The five-time All-Star reached another milestone with an incredible stat line of 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 22 assists.
It was a career-high in assists for the 28-year-old, the 13th triple-double of his incredible 2016-17 (in 27 games) and the 50th of his career.
According to Royce Young of ESPN, it was the first 25 point, 20 assist triple-double since Magic Johnson in 1988.
Oh yeah, he also did this to Suns rookie Tyler Ulis. Welcome to the NBA kid.
Westbrook will continue his triple-double quest Monday, Dec. 19, when the Thunder host the Atlanta Hawks.