Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives on Josh Richardson and Rodney McGruder of the Miami Heat during a game at American Airlines Arena on December 27, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo : Getty Images/Mike Ehrmann)
A triple-double used to be quite a rare occurrence in the NBA, even if the league's high caliber of players is taken into consideration. However, marquee players have now proved that consistent triple-double worthy performances are actually possible given the right people around you. This was the case for James Harden, who is arguably carrying a subpar Houston Rockets team, and Russell Westbrook, who was finally given a chance to shine after Kevin Durant jumped ship to the Golden State Warriors.
I was like, that's a quarter of the season. But I didn't think there was any way he'd be able to do that and keep [a triple-double average] up," Boston Celtics legend and current NBA TV analyst Kevin McHale told the New York Daily News in an exclusive interview. Over half of the current NBA season has already gone by, but Westbrook has still managed to keep this incredible average of his alive.
Westbrook claimed yet another triple-double in the Thunder's Feb. 9 triumph against the Cleveland Cavaliers, taking his tally up to 26. His current count for the season means he has tied Oscar Robertson's single-season triple-double record of 26 back in both the 1960-1961 and 1963-194 seasons, while still having 30 games in hand. This puts him on track to break Robertson's single-season record of 41 triple-doubles.
Harden has also made history after he posted back-to-back 40-point triple doubles back in January. He is only the fourth player in NBA history to achieve such a feat, which puts him in the same company as Pete Maravich, Michael Jordan, and unsurprisingly, Westbrook as well, Fox Sports reported. Recently, the Warriors' Draymond Green only scored 4 points, but still managed a unique triple-double by recording 12 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 steals in his team's win against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Harden has so far tallied 14 triple-double this season, which ties him with Magic Johnson, who managed a total of 14 in the 1990-1991 season. This means that Harden is on track to at least tie the fifth best single-season record of 22 or even surpass it. The 2016-2017 NBA season has already seen 64 triple-doubles, which is a whole lot more than the 18 made in the season five years ago.
Watch the highlights of Westbrook's triple-double performance this season against the reigning NBA champions below:
