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The Washington Wizards’ most recent victory over the Indiana Pacers proved to be a historic night for Russell Westbrook.
The nine-time All-Star ended with a hugely impressive stat line of 33 points, 15 assists and 19 rebounds. That was his 181st triple-double in only the 13th season of his career. Russell Westbrook is now tied with Oscar Robertson for the most triple-doubles in NBA history.
After tying with the 12-time All-Star and former NBA champion with the Milwaukee Bucks, Oscar Robertson, Westbrook said:
"I'm so grateful, thankful and blessed. I take a lot of pride in doing everything to impact winning as much as I can and leave it on the floor. To be in the conversation with Oscar, for one, I want to thank him because he set the stage and sacrificed a lot of things for us to be able to go out and play. The times he played in and the things he was able to do back in the day has allowed me to be able to do the things I want to do today. I am just grateful for him, his words and appreciative of his support as well."
Against the Indiana Pacers, Russell Westbrook registered his tenth triple-double, the most he has ever produced against a single team.
Since joining the OKC Thunder as the 4th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft, Russell Westbrook has broken multiple triple-double records. As he sets his sight on becoming the player with the most triple-doubles in NBA history, let's take a look at five triple-double records Russell Westbrook already holds.
#1 Russell Westbrook has had the most triple-double NBA seasons (3)
Due to his improved performances after a terrible start to the season, Russell Westbrook is on his way to his fourth triple-double season in the NBA.
Westbrook achieved the feat for the first time during his MVP-winning season in 2016-17. He is the only player apart from Oscar Robertson to have ever finished a season averaging a triple-double.
Robertson did it once during the 1961-62 season. In comparison, Westbrook has achieved the feat three times already and should be able to comfortably do it a fourth time as the regular season ends.
Russell Westbrook is currently having his best-ever season with respect to rebounds and assists and is well on his way to further improving his record.
#2 Russell Westbrook holds the record for most triple-doubles in an NBA season (42)
The 2016-17 MVP winner has had his credentials questioned. The argument was that Westbrook ended up winning the award only due to his triple-double record with the OKC Thunder.
Apart from becoming the second player to average a triple-double in an NBA season, Westbrook also produced a record 42 triple-doubles that campaign.
Incidentally, Russell Westbrook holds three of the top five spots in the list of most triple-doubles in a season. Oscar Robertson had 41 in 1961-62 before Westbrook one-upped him.
This season, Westbrook has had 35 triple-doubles; he produced 34 triple-doubles in 2018-19.
The player who comes closest after Robertson and Westbrook in the all-time list of most triple-doubles in an NBA season is the great Wilt Chamberlain, who recorded 31 in the 1967-68 campaign.
#3 Russell Westbrook is the first player with multiple triple-doubles against every NBA team
There are only two players in NBA history who have produced at least one triple-double against every team in the competition. Apart from Westbrook, LeBron James is the only other player to achieve this feat when he produced a triple-double against the OKC Thunder in the 2018-19 season.
Westbrook, who had joined the Houston Rockets at the start of the season, only needed to register a triple-double against his former team OKC Thunder. He ended up doing that twice during the season, becoming the first player to ever produce multiple triple-doubles against every team in the NBA.
#4 Russell Westbrook has the most consecutive triple-doubles in NBA history
The 2018-19 season was arguably Russell Westbrook’s second-most successful campaign in terms of numbers. That season, Westbrook went on an impressive 11-game streak of consecutive triple-doubles.
The streak began against the Portland Trail Blazers on 22nd January 2019 and ended on February 14th against the New Orleans Pelicans.
During these 11 games, Russell Westbrook averaged over 21 points, 13.5 assists and 11.1 rebounds per game. In four of his last five seasons, Westbrook has averaged a triple-double, which is another record in itself as well.
#5 Russell Westbrook has the joint-most triple-doubles in NBA history
Russell Westbrook is certain to become the player with the most triple-doubles in NBA history. He could achieve the feat as early as the match against the Atlanta Hawks.
Magic Johnson and Jason Kidd follow Westbrook in the all-time list.
The next active player with the most career triple-doubles is LeBron James (99). James Harden and Nikola Jokic have 58 and 56 triple-doubles, respectively.
