5 best performances of the 2018-19 NBA season

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - APRIL 10: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder looks on in the second quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Fiserv Forum on April 10, 2019 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

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OKLAHOMA CITY, OK- APRIL 2: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder joins NBA Legend Wilt Chamberlain as the 2nd player to record a 20/20/20 game in NBA History / on April 2, 2019 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images) /

4. Russell Westbrook’s 20/20/20

The NBA record book is littered with absurd achievements by Wilt Chamberlain that are unlikely to ever be replicated. There’s the 100-point game, the season he averaged 50 points and 25 rebounds per game, and the year he made over 72 percent of his field goal attempts. Things are so out of hand that there’s literally a whole Wikipedia page devoted to his accomplishments. This year, though, Russell Westbrook, who also manages to fill the stat sheet in a number of awe-inspiring ways, managed to match at least one of Wilt’s achievements by becoming just the second player in league history to accumulate 20 points, 20 rebounds, and 20 assists in a single game, finishing with 20, 20, and 21 against the Lakers. Sure, it’s easy to fret about the fact that Westbrook only went 8-of-23 from the field that night, finishing with more shots than points, but when you’re doing something that only Chamberlain has done before, you know you’ve achieved something truly special. Westbrook does have the upper hand on Wilt in one regard, though. He’s now averaged a triple-double in three consecutive seasons, and not even Wilt ever pulled that off.

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