Russell Westbrook has done it. He broke a record that many thought was unbreakable when he recorded his 182nd triple-double against the Hawks on Monday night, which surpassed Oscar Robertson for the most triple-doubles in NBA history.
Westbrook had 28 points, 21 assists, and 13 rebounds last night, but he would miss a potential game-winning three at the buzzer, and the Wizards would fall to Atlanta 125-124 at State Farm Arena.
Westbrook, who has a league-leading 36 triple-doubles this season and is averaging 22.0 points, 11.6 assists, and 11.6 rebounds a contest, feels honored to be mentioned with some of the all-time greats in NBA history.
“It’s just a blessing,” Westbrook said after the game. “You put so much into the game, so much time, you sacrifice so much, to be able to just be mentioned with guys like Oscar, Magic [Johnson] and Jason Kidd, those guys is something I never dreamed about as a young kid growing up in L.A. Truly grateful for moments like this.”
Besides Robertson, never in our wildest dreams did anybody think any player in the NBA could average a triple-double for a season, and Westbrook has done it four times. We all thought if there were one player that would have done it, LeBron James would have been the guy, but Westbrook has beaten the odds, and now, he’s the king of triple-doubles.
With the loss on Monday night, Washington(32-37), who was without Bradley Beal(hamstring), is now 1/2 game behind the Pacers(32-36) for the ninth-seed in the Eastern Conference, and they are 1.5 games behind the eighth-seeded Hornets.
Washington has three games left, including their season finale against Charlotte, so if they can get in striking distance of the Hornets, their last game of the season could be for the eighth-seed, which would be huge because Washington would have to win only one game, instead of two to advance in the Play-In Tournament.
