Russell Westbrook made history on November 26th when he posted his 44th career triple-double, moving him past Lafayette "Fat" Lever, and tying him with Lebron James for sixth all-time in NBA history. What is even more impressive is that Westbrook has managed to do this in 395 games, which is fewer than Lebron.
While the accomplishment has put him in some pretty good company, Westbrook says that he is much happier with the fact that his team won. Westbrook was pretty busy filling up the stat sheets with 17 points, 13 rebounds, and 15 assists as the Thunder routed the Detroit Pistons 106-88.
Westbrook has recorded a triple in four of his last six games, and seventh overall for the season, which is more than any player in the league this year. He finished last season with 18 triple doubles that surpassed the record of Michael Jordan back in 1981-1982. If he remains healthy and continues his current level of play, Westbrook may end up notching at least 33 triple doubles by the end of this season.
If this were to happen, it would be the most since Oscar Robertson's 41 triple doubles in 1961-1962. He only needs to record three more to pass the legendary Larry Bird for third on the all-time list, at age 28.
Through 18 games, the explosive point guard has been averaging 31.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 11.1 assists. Thunder coach Billy Donovan has been impressed with the numbers that Westbrook has been putting up, labeling him as a "Hall of Fame player."
Westbrook has made it a trademark to always put him some pretty monstrous numbers in his triple doubles. In his 44 career triple doubles, he has been averaging 25.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 12.9 assists. To put things in perspective, Jason Kidd has averages of 17.5 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 12.2 assists in his 107 career triple doubles.
He was recently inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame by Michael Jordan. In a report posted on SB Nation, Jordan has praised to Westbrook, who is sponsored by Jordan Brand, saying that he is a fan of his and even compared Westbrook's passion for the game with his.
In a report posted on Fox Sports, Lebron James was quick to give praise to the explosive Thunder point guard for his amazing triple double streak this season. James took to Twitter to praise Westbrook, saying that he has been playing like an "animal" this season and encouraged him to keep it up.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
