Russell Westbrook closing in on history with his 39th triple-double of the season

Mar 29, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) celebartes after they beat thew Orlando Magic in overtime at Amway Center. Westbrook is the first player to score the most points in triple-double in NBA history. Oklahoma City Thunder defeats the Orlando Magic 114-106 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Russell Westbrook is now only two triple-doubles away from tying Oscar Robertson’s single season record.

Friday night the Oklahoma City Thunder took on the San Antonio Spurs on their home court and got another brilliant performance from their star point guard Russell Westrook, something all basketball fans are used to seeing this season.

Despite his best effort (32 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists), Oklahoma City fell just short, losing 96-95 to arguably the second-best team in the NBA. For the 39th time this year, he was able to record at least 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in the same game (hence a triple-double).

As I said before, this kind of play is nothing new for Westbrook. In his previous outing, he scored 57 points while also grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing out 11 assists — that being the most points ever scored while recording a triple-double. Pretty impressive stuff. Friday night was actually his fourth straight such game, making his case for the MVP award even stronger.

Back in 1962, Oscar Robertson recorded 41 triple-double games and that record has stood ever since. With seven games to go, I like Westbrook’s chances to make that record his own. He’s also on pace to average nearly 32 points, 10.6 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game. The last player to do that? Oscar Robertson.

There has been plenty of debate over who deserves the MVP trophy this year between James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and Westbrook himself. To me, I don’t think there’s much debate at all. Statistically, the NBA hasn’t seen a player accomplish what Westbrook has in over 50 years.

While LeBron and Harden’s teams have been able to win more games, they also have more talent around them. Not to mention it seems as though Russ is a league-wide fan favorite to take home the award. Getting showered by MVP chants at home is one thing, but he’s even heard the chants in enemy territory on multiple occasions. With the tear he’s been on lately, can we just give him the award now?

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