Russell Westbrook's "Perfect" Triple Double Provides a Reminder of How Exceptional He is
The Denver Nuggets' 132-121 victory versus the Utah Jazz on Monday December 30 featured two triple doubles. Denver's MVP candidate (and three-time NBA regular season MVP) Nikola Jokic had the 144th triple double of his career (36 points, 22 rebounds, 11 assists), and his teammate Russell Westbrook had the 201st triple double of his career (16 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists). Jokic ranks third all-time in triple doubles, behind only Oscar Robertson (181) and Westbrook (201), who became the triple double king in 2021. While Jokic had the "bigger" triple double versus Utah, Westbrook had the more uncommon triple double: Westbrook did not miss a shot (7-7 FG, 2-2 FT) and did not commit a turnover, authoring just the third "perfect" triple double since the NBA began officially tracking individual turnovers during the 1977-78 season. Jokic (in 2018) and Domantas Sabonis (earlier this season) are the only other players who have had "perfect" triple doubles. This is the second time that Westbrook shot 100% from the field during a triple double game.
Denver Coach Michael Malone effusively praised Westbrook: "First-ballot Hall of Famer, one of the greatest point guards to ever play the game. And what I admire so much about him, aside from the leadership and toughness that he brings every single day, is he's got no ego." Malone added, "He came here for one reason and that's to help us win a championship. And he hates to lose, and that's another thing I love about him. He's built the right way, and I'll go to war with Russell Westbrook any day."
If you understand basketball in general and the NBA game in particular, then you love the way Westbrook plays. Hubie Brown praises Westbrook to the sky. Unfortunately, many uninformed media members--including Amin Elhassan and Zach Harper--look for any excuse to bash Westbrook and minimize the value of his accomplishments. Contrary to what Westbrook's loudest critics often assert, rebounds are not fungible in general, and Westbrook's rebounds specifically are not fungible.
Seven of the top 12 career leaders in triple doubles are active players. It could be argued that triple doubles in general are easier to get now than in previous eras due to lenient scorekeeping for assists, but it is biased and foolish to praise some players' triple doubles while acting as if the triple doubles by the all-time triple double leader are worthless; the distance between Westbrook and Robertson on the career triple double list--20--would tie Charles Barkley and Tom Gola for 29th all-time. Kevin Durant, Scottie Pippen, Bill Russell, Kevin Garnett, and Stephen Curry are just a few of the Hall of Famers/future Hall of Famers who have less than 20 career triple doubles. In other words, Westbrook is head and shoulders above everyone in terms of triple doubles, and the margin of his dominance cannot be explained just by the nature of how the game is played now or by how statistics are recorded now.
Denver fans need not concern themselves with how easy or difficult it is to get a triple double, or with how many career triple doubles Jokic and Westbrook will have, because what matters most now for their team is that Westbrook's energy and unselfishness are, as I predicted, a breath of fresh air for a Nuggets team that lacks depth.
Labels: Denver Nuggets, Domantas Sabonis, Michael Malone, Nikola Jokic, Oscar Robertson, Russell Westbrook
posted by David Friedman @ 2:25 AM
22 Comments:
Marcel
I look at russ as a good player not really a great player he very inefficient
His greatest attribute is his athleticism and will
He a good playmaker as well
But he doesn't contribute to winning nearly enough for me
Marcel:
Hubie Brown, Michael Malone, and other informed observers disagree with your assessment of Westbrook.
The record shows that Westbrook has reached the WCF four times, and the NBA Finals once. The Washington Wizards had their only playoff season in the past seven years during Westbrook's only year with the team. There are other examples of Westbrook contributing to winning that I have documented in various articles on this site as well.
Marcel
He has won 1 playoff series in a decade
He plays hard, a good playmaker and athletic
It's just 4 or 5 other guards from this era I'll take over him.
The NBA about what have u won.
And russ hasn't won anything and his inefficient play at times is the reason that is.
I felt like he could of been better
He had a solid career
Marcel:
Westbrook earned a regular season MVP and nine All-NBA selections while setting the career and single season triple double records. He led the league in assists three times, won two scoring titles, and he is one of the best rebounding guards ever. If you think that is just a “solid” career then I am not going to waste my time trying to persuade you otherwise.
I didn’t think I would live to see a player average a triple double for an entire season, even one of the 12-10-10 variety, which makes Westbrook’s 31-10-10 MVP and scoring title season that much more impressive. I hadn’t even considered the possibility of a player having three consecutive triple double seasons, four total.
I remember during Westbrook’s first triple double season there were people in the media who were so blinded by their personal dislike of Westbrook that they frantically trying to convince everyone that averaging a triple double wasn’t that impressive and that Westbrook shouldn’t win the MVP. It reminds me of people who try to trivialize Wilt Chamberlain’s untouchable individual dominance. If what Chamberlain and Westbrook accomplished isn’t that impressive then why hasn’t a single other player in the history of professional basketball come close to matching those numbers?
I just wanted to add that Oscar Robertson did come close to having four consecutive triple double seasons but outside of Robertson, Westbrook is unparalleled when it comes to triple double seasons.
Marcel
Micheal
Everyone gets triple doubles in 2025
The stats not as impressive as it once was
Especially when those triple doubles only led to one playoff series win in a decade
I'm sorry many players could average a triple double in a season if they tried
Marcel:
If many players “could” do it then why is Westbrook the only player who has done it?
Westbrook has had more playoff success than all but a few players during his era, as noted above (four WCF appearances, one NBA Finals appearance). Curry had stacked teams and won more than Westbrook, but that’s about it.
Marcel
It's a lot of players who could average a triple double today if they tried
Curry way better than Westbrook. I also take Dame Lillard kyrie and Chris Paul over him
He was a good robin to kd batman but he never did anything in playoffs after kd left okc
He not a winner he just put up good stats
He never won nothing or had any sustain success
Marcel:
Why would Westbrook be the only player who is trying to average a triple double? If he is the only player trying, then good for him.
Curry is the best guard since Kobe was in his prime, but give me a break with Lillard, Irving, and Paul. Lillard does not play a lick of defense, and he has a career 4-9 playoff series record. Irving only plays a little more defense than Lillard, and his 15-6 playoff series record is a result of playing with prime LeBron and prime Luka. Paul was an excellent defensive player during his prime, but his playoff series record is 12-15 and he has the most blown 2-0 leads of any player in NBA history.
The problem is that the majority of people understand how good Westbrook is, but you get caught up with a few naysayers way too much, and then overrated him a lot.
Triple doubles are great and fancy, but it's just a stat in the end. Helping the Wizards to a 34-38 record one year playing alongside an AS teammate and then losing/playing badly in the 1st round isn't exactly saying a whole lot. Obviously he contributes to winning, but not as much as you say. He was a great #2 option in his prime, but then when it was his chance to be the #1 option, he's either missing the playoffs or losing in the 1st round every time. He's seen the 2nd round 1x in the past 9 seasons. Denver should be battling for the #1 seed in the West at the very least if he contributes to winning as much as you tell us.
Marcel
LoL Westbrook only had playoff success with prime kd
So ur argument on kyrie makes no sense
Kyrie better in every way than Westbrook but passing
Lillard a way better shooter and more efficient
Paul better in every way than Westbrook
He stole rebounds and stat pad
He a good player but not great
U the only person who think he better than any of those players
Anonymous:
As I have documented, even so-called "experts" like Amin Elhassan and Zach Harper underrate Westbrook.
I would be interested if you cited a specific statement or article in which I "overrated him a lot."
I do not base my overall evaluation of Westbrook solely on triple doubles, but his triple double records are remarkable. In his prime, he was an elite scorer, passer, and rebounder. He was not getting 10-10-10 triple doubles; he was getting 30-10-10 on a regular basis.
When Westbrook was the number one option, did he ever have a healthy, championship level supporting cast around him?
Westbrook is past his prime now, and is being used as a sixth man/occasional starter. He has had an impact for Denver, but it is not reasonable to expect him to singlehandedly make up for the injuries and lack of depth affecting Denver this season.
Marcel:
Curry won two of his four championships with KD after KD fled OKC instead of accepting the challenge of trying to beat the Warriors. Curry has had stacked teams throughout his career, so I don't understand the comparisons you are making with Westbrook. Curry and Irving had stacked teams when they won, while Lillard and Paul have won less than Westbrook has.
Westbrook's career rpg (7.1) and apg (8.1) are much higher than Irving's (4.0, 5.6), and Westbrook won two scoring titles while Irving has won none. Westbrook is older than Irving and Westbrook's scoring average has declined in recent years such that Irving now has the higher career scoring average, but prime Westbrook scored more than prime Irving.
Saying that other people disagree with me proves nothing.
As I said before in this comment thread, it is not worth wasting my time debating this with you. I have laid out the facts, and you can choose to accept them or not.
Thank you David for always pushing back against the media's hatred of Westbrook and highlighting the value he brings. Putting stats aside, the biggest number for me that no one talks about, is games played. Westbrook shows up. He played 78 games in his first season with the Lakers and got blamed for everything, while James missed 26 and Davis missed 42...and then played only 4 less games (52 to 55/56) than both of them the following season, despite being traded at the deadline...He played with a broken hand and had higher +/- than both PG and Harden in all of the Clippers playoff wins last season -- but somehow was used as the scapegoat there as well despite PG and Harden shooting 30% combined in the final two games.
For the last decade, I've seen every major media outlet push the narrative that Lebron James has not had enough help, despite playing with more all-star players than any player ever, yet I've never heard any outlet say the same about Westbrook. And, certainly have never heard him utter those words. He goes to battle (figuratively and at times quite literally) with the players around him.
Anonymous/Marcel, are you really going to posit that Paul George is on the same level as prime KD, prime James, or prime Giannis?? And let's not even discuss the joke that is the Wizards organization and Bradley Beal as anything but a one-way, oft-injured chucker.
The proof is in the results. When Westbrook is allowed to be himself, he makes his teams better. He's also made every all-star/all-NBA player he's played with -- better (sans a certain self-proclaimed King who has only ever made his all-NBA or all-star level teammates worse). KD won his lone MVP with Westbrook. George finished 3rd in MVP voting and highest scoring season of his career. Beal had his highest scoring season (31 ppg) and earned a super max playing next to Westbrook. Westbrook took a backseat to Harden on the Clippers (something I disagreed with at the time and still do despite the positive results) and the team went on huge winning streak before he got injured.
Nick used to call him the ultimate floor raiser and I begrudgingly agreed with him. However, this season, Westbrook is proving to be a ceiling raiser too. He's actually somehow made Jokic better!
Out of the other point guards mentioned in this thread, only Paul has made similar positive impacts on his teammates throughout the course of his career -- from David West/Chandler to Griffin/Jordan to Harden to Shai/Schroder to Booker/Ayton and now to Wemby. Though, if you look at that talent pool, it's much better than the talent Westbrook has had the last 9 seasons as all of those guys were in or entering their primes.
Remove the Lakers stint, and Westbrook's reputation and results would be in a much better place.
Jordan:
I agree with almost everything you wrote, and would only add that LeBron's negative impact on his teammates' output is one of the great underreported NBA stories of the past 20 years. LeBron has won four titles (while losing six times in the Finals) because he is incredibly talented and very productive individually, but almost every star player he has played with had reduced productivity alongside LeBron because LeBron dominates the ball. In contrast, Westbrook's star teammates have played their best ball alongside him, as you documented (and as I have noted in previous articles). Kobe had a positive impact on his star teammates Shaq and Pau Gasol (Howard and Nash were past their primes and injured by the time they played with Kobe, who was himself past his prime by then).
My slight quibble would be that Paul's impact only extends to the regular season; he and his teams consistently collapse in the playoffs, blowing big series leads and falling apart in seventh games. Kobe lifted his teams to five titles, and Westbrook reached one Finals and four WCFs during his prime. Westbrook's career playoff series record is 11-12, while Paul's is 12-15. Both are obviously not on the same level as Pantheon players Kobe and LeBron, but I would take prime Westbrook over prime Paul without hesitation.
Marcel
Westbrook a good to great individual player.
He doesn't impact winning enough for me
I personally take Dame kyrie and Chris Paul over him
Individually has his career been better than there's probably
Marcel:
Lillard and Paul have won less than Westbrook. Lillard is a defensive sieve, and Paul is a consistent playoff choker.
Irving won one title with LeBron. Irving played very well for that championship team, but that does not prove that he impacts winning more than Westbrook does. Irving is a better shooter than Westbrook, but Westbrook is better at every other aspect of the game.
Marcel
I just haven't seen it impact winning
I'll give u this he is currently playing great with jokic
We'll see how far the nuggets can go
If they go to west finals or so I'll give props
Impressive performance by Westbrook and Jokic last night. We'll see what happens when Aaron Gordon comes back but Westbrook may have played his way back into the starting lineup. Denver has issues with health and depth but provided the team is healthy in April, they could shape up to be a major threat in the playoffs.
Marcel:
If you haven't seen Westbrook's triple doubles impact winning then you are not looking closely enough. Westbrook's teams are 149-53 (.738) when he has a triple double; that is equivalent to a 61-21 regular season record over the course of an 82 game season.
Westbrook has won more than your guys Lillard and Paul. Irving won one title with LeBron, and made one Finals appearance with Luka. So, again, I don't understand the logic behind the assertions you are making about Westbrook compared to Irving, Lillard, and Paul if "winning" is your main criterion.
Why does Westbrook have to make the WCF this year as a 36 year old backup/occasional starter to somehow validate the four WCF appearances that he made during his prime? That makes no sense.
Westbook would be the third best player on the Lakers right now, if the Lakers had kept him and had enough sense to use him correctly (as the Nuggets are doing).
Keith:
Jokic is having an MVP-caliber season, and his chemistry with Westbrook is impressive but not surprising; both are team-first players who play hard every game.
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