Russell Westbrook announced his retirement from the NBA on Wednesday, which puts him on the fast track to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in a few years' time.
But how high in the pantheon of all-time great point guards does Westbrook belong?
Westbrook was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player in 2016-17 and earned nine All-Star nods and nine All-NBA selections throughout his 18-year career. He also led the league in scoring twice, led the league in assists three times and became a triple-double machine after Kevin Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016.
In the first eight years of his career alongside KD, Westbrook racked up 37 triple-doubles across 587 games. Following Durant's departure from OKC, Westbrook had 42 triple-doubles in 2016-17 alone.
Westbrook currently holds the NBA record with 209 regular-season triple-doubles, although Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić (198) figures to surpass him at some point in the 2026-27 season. Oscar Robertson is third on the all-time leaderboard at 181, and Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Dončić (90) is the only other player who's even remotely close to cracking the top five anytime soon.
Prior to Westbrook's 2016-17 campaign, Robertson was the only player in NBA history who averaged a triple-double across an entire season. Starting in 2016-17, Westbrook did it three years in a row. He also did so in 2020-21 during his lone season with the Washington Wizards. (Jokić has also accomplished the feat twice since then.)
So, Westbrook's legacy as the NBA's king of triple-doubles is secure. But how does he compare to the league's other all-time great point guards?
Westbrook's all-time PG ranking
The one thing missing from Westbrook's resume is an NBA championship. He made it to the NBA Finals in 2012, where the Thunder lost to LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat, and he never advanced past the conference finals again.
Here's a look at how he stacks up in terms of accolades compared to the other all-time great point guards and combo guards throughout NBA history.
Player | Titles | MVPs | All-Star | All-NBA | Points | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Russell Westbrook | 0 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 27,176 (14th) | 10,351 (5th) |
Magic Johnson | 5 | 3 | 12 | 10 | 17,707 (91st) | 10,141 (8th) |
Stephen Curry | 4 | 2 | 12 | 11 | 26,528 (19th) | 6,743 (27th) |
Oscar Robertson | 1 | 1 | 12 | 11 | 26,710 (17th) | 9,887 (9th) |
Jerry West | 1 | 0 | 14 | 12 | 25,192 (27th) | 6,238 (37th) |
Chris Paul | 0 | 0 | 12 | 11 | 23,058 (36th) | 12,552 (2nd) |
John Stockton | 0 | 0 | 10 | 11 | 19,711 (53rd) | 15,806 (1st) |
Isiah Thomas | 2 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 18,882 (71st) | 9,061 (10th) |
Jason Kidd | 1 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 17,529 (97th) | 12,091 (3rd) |
James Harden | 0 | 1 | 11 | 8 | 29,339 (8th) | 8,873 (12th) |
Steve Nash | 0 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 17,387 (99th) | 10,335 (6th) |
Allen Iverson | 0 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 24,368 (30th) | 5,624 (54th) |
Bob Cousy | 6 | 1 | 13 | 12 | 16,960 (111th) | 6,955 (22nd) |
Walt Frazier | 2 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 15,581 (147th) | 5,040 (75th) |
Gary Payton | 1 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 21,813 (39th) | 8,966 (11th) |
Damian Lillard | 0 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 22,598 (37th) | 6,069 (42nd) |
Magic Johnson, Stephen Curry and Oscar Robertson all won at least one championship and one MVP award and had at least 10 All-Star and All-NBA selections, which put all three of them ahead of Westbrook. Jerry West earned 14 All-Star nods — the most of any point guard — along with 12 All-NBA selections and a title in 1972, so he clears Westbrook as well.
Chris Paul didn't win an MVP or a championship throughout his 21-year NBA career, although his 12 All-Star nods and 11 All-NBA selections are both ahead of Westbrook. He also finished second on the all-time assists leaderboard, trailing only John Stockton, who had 10 All-Stars and 11 All-NBA appearances. Both of them are comfortably ahead of Westbrook, too.
Isiah Thomas didn't have nearly as many All-NBA selections (five) as Westbrook, but his two championships with the Detroit Pistons earn him major points in this discussion. He was the final thorn in Michael Jordan's side before His Airness took over the NBA for most of the '90s. While Thomas didn't put up the massive scoring numbers as other all-time great guards, his defensive acumen helps push him past Westbrook.
This is where the debate starts to get interesting.
Jason Kidd won a championship with the Dallas Mavericks late in his career in 2011 and finished third on the all-time assists leaderboard, but he wasn't nearly as prolific of a scorer as Westbrook. The same goes for Steve Nash, who won back-to-back MVPs as the engine of the Seven Seconds or Less Phoenix Suns but finished his career with fewer All-Star and All-NBA selections as Westbrook along with the same number of titles (zero).
Allen Iverson was the NBA's top pound-for-pound scorer in his prime and won an MVP award in 2000-01, but he was more of a shooting guard in a point guard's body. James Harden, who has one MVP under his belt along with 11 All-Star nods, eight All-NBA selections and top-15 spots on both the scoring and assists leaderboard, was the inverse. He's more of a point guard in a shooting guard's body, although he's also a glaring defensive liability, which has led to his teams repeatedly flaming out in the playoffs.
All four of Kidd, Nash, Iverson and Harden are ahead of Westbrook in both Bleacher Report and The Athletic's all-time lists, but we're getting closer to Westbrook's neighborhood now.
Bob Cousy won six championships with the Boston Celtics in the late 1950s and early 1960s, although as JJ Redick infamously noted, he was "being guarded by plumbers and firemen" back in those days. The same goes for Walt Frazier, who won a pair of championships with the New York Knicks in the early 1970s but finished well below Westbrook in total points, assists, All-Star selections and All-NBA nods.
Statistically speaking, Westbrook was far more accomplished than either Cousy or Frazier. Their championships might give them an edge over Westbrook — Cousy was also named MVP in 1956-57 — but it isn't a foregone conclusion.
Gary Payton did win a championship with the Miami Heat in 2006, although that should be considered the equivalent of a participation trophy when debating all-time ranks. He averaged only 5.0 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 24.3 minutes per game off the bench during the Heat's title run. The Glove was a dynamic defender, but he was far less prolific than Westbrook statistically.
Aside from Curry, Harden and Paul, Damian Lillard is the only other point guard who belongs in these types of conversations. However, Lillard has only seven All-NBA nods to Westbrook's nine and never won an MVP award or a title. Lillard is a far better three-point shooter (37.1 percent) than Westbrook (30.8 percent), but Westbrook was the better playmaker.
So, where does that leave Westbrook? If he's behind Magic, Steph, Oscar, The Logo, CP3, Isiah, Stockton, Kidd, Nash, Iverson and Harden, he's no higher than 12th on the all-time point-guard leaderboard. Depending on whether you believe he deserves to be above Cousy, Frazier, Payton and/or Lillard, he's anywhere from 12th to 16th.
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