Home 禄 Sports 禄 Basketball
Westbrook sets new record for triple-doubles
Print Edition
Russell Westbrook wrote his way into National Basketball Association history on Monday, bagging the 182nd triple-double of his career to break Oscar Robertson鈥檚 47-year-old record.
Washington Wizards star Westbrook, who had equaled Robertson鈥檚 record of 181 triples on Saturday, sealed his record-breaking triple with 8 minutes, 33 seconds remaining in Monday鈥檚 124-125 defeat to the Atlanta Hawks.
Westbrook had 28 points, 21 assists and 13 rebounds for his 36th triple-double of the season. He is already assured of averaging a triple-double per game this season.
A triple-double occurs when a player makes double-digit tallies in three of the five major statistical categories in a game 鈥 points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.
Westbrook has averaged a triple-double per game in four of the last five seasons, an eye-popping statistic that ensured he rapidly caught and overtook Robertson鈥檚 historic benchmark, which had stood since 1974 and was once widely regarded as unbeatable.
鈥淣ormally I don鈥檛 like to pat myself on the back, but tonight I will,鈥 Westbrook said afterwards. 鈥淚 am just so grateful for those that came before me.鈥
The 32-year-old Westbrook now has several seasons left in his career to extend his record, with few of his contemporaries anywhere near his total.
Westbrook has nearly twice as many triple-doubles as his nearest rival among currently active players.
After Westbrook with 182, LeBron James is in second spot with 99 triples, while James Harden is third with 58.
Only two other players after Westbrook and Robertson have scored 100 or more triples on the all-time rankings, with Earvin 鈥淢agic鈥 Johnson third with 138 and Jason Kidd fourth with 107.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a blessing ... You put so much into the game,鈥 Westbrook said. 鈥淛ust to be mentioned with guys like Oscar, Magic, Jason Kidd, those guys. It鈥檚 just something I would never have dreamt about.鈥
Wizards coach Scott Brooks described Westbrook鈥檚 achievement as 鈥減henomenal.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 great for him,鈥 Brooks said. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 take anything away from him.鈥
Johnson, meanwhile, had paid tribute to Westbrook鈥檚 record-breaking career prior to Monday鈥檚 game, saying the Wizards ace didn鈥檛 always get the credit he deserved. 鈥淲hen we show highlights, it鈥檚 how many points somebody had, how far can they shoot out on the court,鈥 Johnson told The Athletic.
鈥淩ussell Westbrook is neither one of those things. He gets all these triple-doubles, but you don鈥檛 see him on the highlights. The things he鈥檚 been able to do, hopefully, we will say, 鈥楪ive him his love, give him his respect.鈥 This is really big. This is something I couldn鈥檛 even do. I know how big it is.鈥
Westbrook鈥檚 critics have accused him of artificially inflating his personal stats to keep his triple-double tally ticking over, noting that a career that has included stints with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets and a 2017 NBA Most Valuable Player award has yet to yield an NBA Championship.
However, Robertson himself is among those who have dismissed the criticism of Westbrook鈥檚 failure to land a championship ring.
鈥淚 think he鈥檚 one of the elite guards in basketball, and I think it鈥檚 ridiculous that some sports writers criticize him because he has not won a championship,鈥 Robertson told The New York Times.
鈥淧layers don鈥檛 win championships by themselves. You鈥檝e got to have good management. You need to get with the right group of players.鈥
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
