Russell Westborook reaches 50 triple doubles, joins rare company

As the triple-doubles pile up, Russell Westbrook is putting his name alongside some of the NBA’s all-time greats.

With his 26-point, 22-assist, 11-rebound effort in Oklahoma City’s 114-101 victory over the Phoenix Suns, Russell Westbrook enters rarefied air. He becomes only the sixth player in NBA history to record 50 triple-doubles, and is the third-fastest player to the mark. At 614 games, Westbrook is behind only Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson. In addition to The Big O and Magic, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, and Jason Kidd have over 50 triple-doubles.

Not bad company for Westbrook, who is only in his ninth season in the NBA.

The 20 assists in the triple double are also an incredible feat, and gives Westbrook another rare NBA feat. Earlier this year, he dropped the league’s first 50-point triple-double since 1975.

Of course, Westbrook punctuated his all-time effort with a jaw-dropping assist that showcased everything that makes him one of the most entertaining players of all time — raw power, speed, and flair. They call the man Furious Styles for a reason.

In his first season without Kevin Durant, Westbrook has made it abundantly clear that he is enjoying his chance to do basically whatever he wants on a basketball court. We got to see flashes of this in the past when Durant was injured, but the two stars always seemed to get in each other’s way on the court. This was Westbrook’s 13th triple-double of the season, and he is averaging 30-10-10 this season. If he keeps it up, he will join Robertson as the only player to average a triple-double for an entire season.

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Say what you will about shot selection padding stats, and efficiency, it’s Russell Westbrook’s world, and it’s been a hell of a ride so far this season.