Russell Westbrook makes triple-doubles look easy. Don’t take them for granted, Wizards say

Russell Westbrook isn’t impressed — or at least he tries not to show that he is impressed — by his own accomplishments.

Setting the Wizards’ franchise triple-doubles record?

“I don’t take it for granted,” the guard says.

The praise he received after becoming the first player since Magic Johnson to score at least 30 points with 20 assists and 10 rebounds?

“I don’t deserve the credit,” he added.

But when it’s pointed out that he is on pace to average a triple-double for a fourth season — and that he’s the only player in NBA history to average the statistic more than once in the first place? Well, even Westbrook smiles.

“It’s pretty crazy, man,” Westbrook said Monday, “when you think about it.” 

When Westbrook eventually retires, his lasting on-court legacy will arguably be the frequency — and the seeming ease — with which he posts triple-doubles on the stat sheet. In Monday’s 132-124 win over the Indiana Pacers, Westbrook surpassed Darrell Walker as the Wizards’ all-time leader in the category with 16.  

And he did it in just 38 games.

Against the Pacers, Westbrook lifted the Wizards without Bradley Beal, who was out with a hip injury. Westbrook broke the record with a remarkable stat line: 35 points, 21 assists and 14 rebounds. The only other players to record at least 30-20-10 were Johnson and Oscar Robertson. That’s it.  

After the win, there were many eye-popping stats related to Westbrook’s performance shared on social media. The 32-year-old, for instance, scored or assisted on 88 of the Wizards’ 132 points. He was the first player in NBA history to record a triple-double with 35 points and at least 20 assists. It was Westbrook’s sixth time pairing 20 points and 20 assists in the last five seasons, according to StatMuse. Only one other player — Chris Paul — has topped 20 points and 20 assists in that span, doing so just once. 

And it doesn’t stop there. 

The Washington Times found that Westbrook’s 16 triple-doubles this season going into Tuesday night’s game would also be the all-time franchise record for 10 other teams: Pacers, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, New Orleans Pelicans, Orlando Magic, San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz.

“When you sit back and actually think about it, and not let the negative energy seep in, and not let the negative comments sink in when it’s all said and done, it’s something to think about,” Westbrook said of his triple-double legacy. “I just go out and play, man.”

The “negative energy” that Westbrook referenced is a nod to the line of thinking that triple-doubles hardly matter. When Westbrook won MVP in 2016-17, some of his detractors pointed to his league-high usage rate and accused him of stat chasing. Others like New Orleans Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy have said that too much of an emphasis is placed on the stat. 

Before the Pelicans’ game against the Denver Nuggets last week, Van Gundy rhetorically asked what’s better: 10 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds or 35 points, nine assists and nine rebounds? A triple-double, he said, was largely an arbitrary figure. 

“To say a triple-double is a measure of a great game, I don’t know,” Van Gundy told reporters. “They’re nice, round numbers, and people get into those things in sports. But I’ve never really been one that thought a whole lot of the whole triple-double thing.”

The focus on triple-doubles is a relatively new phenomenon. In Wes Unseld’s day, the stat didn’t come with nearly the amount of fanfare it does now. When Walker broke Unseld’s then-franchise record in a 113-103 Bullets win over the Chicago Bulls on April 14, 1990, for example, the accomplishment wasn’t even mentioned in The Washington Post’s game story for that evening.

The number of triple-doubles in the NBA, though, has skyrocketed in the past decade, with Westbrook serving as the poster boy behind the boom. 

A decade ago, only 26 players recorded at least one triple-double, with the season total at 37. So far this season, with roughly 30 games to go, that figure is already at 26 players — with 97 triple-doubles logged.

One theory is that teams play at a faster pace, leading to more possessions and stats. Westbrook, with his game-changing speed and aggressiveness, is the embodiment of that style of play.

Wizards coach Scott Brooks, however, said Westbrook’s style of play isn’t about racking up stats, rather it’s a testament to the 32-year-old guard’s competitiveness. The nine-time All-Star, he said, is a “winner” driven to clean up mistakes.

“It’s amazing what he does,” Brooks said. “People don’t realize — or want to realize — what he does because he doesn’t kiss anybody’s (butt). He plays a hard brand of basketball and he doesn’t look for your guys’ approval.”

On Monday, Westbrook became just the third player to set a team’s triple-double record with multiple franchises — joining Jason Kidd (Brooklyn, Phoenix) and LeBron James (Cleveland, Miami). Besides Washington, Westbrook also holds the record in Oklahoma City — where the former MVP spent 11 seasons racking up 138 triple-doubles.

Westbrook might not be done breaking records this season, either. After all, he is now just 20 triple-doubles away from surpassing Robertson’s all-time mark of 181. 

And with 28 games left, there’s a chance — albeit a small one — Westbrook could leap him.

Does he think it’s possible? 

Good luck getting an answer.

“My mind is just trying to get to the playoffs,” Westbrook said. “That’s it. That stuff will come. If it comes, it comes. If it don’t, it don’t. But what I’m worried about is playing our best basketball getting into a playoff spot.”