Russell Westbrook stuffed the stat sheet and was responsible for numerous iconic moments before his retirement.
Russell Westbrook shooting a jump shot (on Thunder), Westbrook securing a rebound (on Lakers), Westbrook making a pass (on Wizards)
Russell Westbrook shooting a jump shot (on Thunder), Westbrook securing a rebound (on Lakers), Westbrook making a pass (on Wizards)
Eighteen seasons played, nine All-Star nods, two scoring titles, three seasons leading the NBA in assists, and an MVP trophy to call his own. Those are just a handful of the many accolades Russell Westbrook earned during his career, which ended on Aug. 12 when the all-time great point guard decided to hang up his kicks and call it quits on a great career.
The UCLA product was one of the most polarizing players in league history. He revolutionized the game of basketball and regularly put up statistics that seemed impossible. He did it with the best motor in the sport and a high-flying, electric style of play that made him must-watch TV. However, some pinned the loser label on Westbrook, and he got a lot of hate throughout his playing days, especially in the twilight of his career.
Now that the long-time Oklahoma City Thunder player is officially retired, basketball fans are quickly going to realize just how special Westbrook was, and that the league was in a better place with him stuffing the stat sheet. So, what are the five best moments of Westbrook's career?
5. Triple-double record
Westbrook is the triple-double king. He is the all-time leader in times securing double-digit statistics in three categories, having done so 209 times over his career. It was a special moment when Westbrook surpassed Oscar Robertson, an all-time great who had numerous records to his name that were once believed to be unbreakable. Brodie broke that record on May 10, 2021, as a member of the Washington Wizards, a team he was having a resurgence with, especially as a triple-double threat.
Perhaps the bigger triple-double spectacle came when Westbrook broke the single-season triple-double record, though. During his MVP run with the Thunder in 2016-17, Russ had to take on much grander responsibilities because his longtime running mate, Kevin Durant, departed for the Golden State Warriors in the offseason. That decision seemingly lit a fire under Westbrook, as he wanted to secure every point, every rebound, and every assist from that point on.
The former fourth overall pick had a tall task ahead of him to surpass Robertson's 41 triple-doubles in a single-season mark, though. It came down to the final game of the year for Westbrook. He didn't just secure a standard 42nd triple-double against the Denver Nuggets; he dropped 50 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists, leaving no doubt about who the triple-double king was. To add a cherry on top, Westbrook hit a game-winning 3-pointer from well beyond the arc; a shot that knocked the divisional foes out of playoff contention.
4. Russell Westbrook's career-high in scoring
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) reacts after scoring against the Portland Trail Blazers during the second half in game three of the first round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
Mr. Triple-Double is known more for stuffing the stat sheet in a variety of ways than he is for his ability to put the ball in the basket. In fact, the biggest critique from skeptics in recent years has been his lack of 3-point shooting and his tendency to miss badly. That is quite unfair, though. Not only was Westbrook a respectable shooter for how dominant he was as a slasher, but his pure scoring has long been underrated.
For starters, he twice led the NBA in scoring, even surpassing the 30-point-per-game threshold in the latter of those two occurrences. Furthermore, Brodie is 14th on the all-time scoring list with 27,176 career points. His scoring prowess was best put on display when he dropped a career-high 58 points on March 7, 2017.
During that performance, Westbrook hit numerous jumpers, both from deep and the mid-range. He also showed off unmatched interior finishing and transition abilities. Fans should never forget just how unstoppable Westbrook was in his prime.
3. Russell Westbrook's 20-20-20 game
Westbrook's grit, determination, and skill level have allowed him to do things during his NBA career that would have previously been thought of as impossible. He regularly puts up video game-like numbers despite facing the best of the best basketball talent in the world.
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One game that perhaps best illustrates this is when he has 20 points, 20 rebounds, and 21 assists on April 2, 2019. That is basically two triple-doubles inside of one game, and it had only been done previously by Wilt Chamberlain, a fellow stat sheet stuffer who is perhaps best known for his 100-point game.
Westbrook's 20-20-20 game came against the Lakers in Los Angeles and was a tribute to Nipsey Hustle, a cultural legend from the LA area who had passed away just days prior. The point guard is a Californian in his own right, and not only did he seemingly have the spirit of Nipsey inside of him, but he proved that he is capable of just about anything on the basketball court. This performance was made all the more special by the fact that it was Westbrook's 10th-to-last game with the Thunder team that drafted him. Many of Westbrook's iconic moments came during his MVP season, but this was a last hurrah before the point guard embarked on a journeyman era in which he'd play for six different teams.
2. Highest-scoring postseason triple-double ever
It is great that Westbrook has numerous triple-double records, but at the end of the day, there are those out there who will say regular season stats don't matter; playoff production rules supreme. Luckily, fresh off what was an MVP regular season, Westbrook showed he has what it takes to dominate in the postseason, too.
Without Durant and before teammates like Carmelo Anthony and Paul George arrived, Westbrook had to take matters into his own hands, just to keep the Thunder afloat. There is perhaps no better example of single-handed domination than when the UCLA product had a 51-point, 10-rebound, 13-assist triple-double against the Houston Rockets in the playoffs.
The explosion came against James Harden, not only another big-time stat producer, but another one of Westbrook's former teammates. To this day, it is arguably the best statistical postseason performance ever.
1. No Durant, no problem for Russell Westbrook
As mentioned above, Westbrook and Durant were teammates-turned-enemies. They played eight seasons together as one of the most electrifying duos in NBA history. That time as partners in crime even included a run to the NBA Finals, in which Westbrook and Durant had the basketball world convinced they'd run the league together for years to come. Unfortunately, they never won a championship together, and Durant left Oklahoma City for a Warriors team that had not only just won 72 games, but had just knocked the Thunder out of the playoffs.
Durant's betrayal created immediate bad blood, but Westbrook took things personally and used the disloyalty to take his game to new heights. In his very first game as the Thunder's best player, the point guard scored 51 points, secured 13 rebounds, and added 10 assists.
That was an announcement to the entire league, and it kicked off not just what was one of the best MVP seasons ever, but really Westbrook's journey toward surpassing Durant as the best player in Thunder history. Westbrook would go on to average a triple-double this season for the first of four times. That is more than the rest of NBA history combined.
Bailey Bassett is a sports and events writer for ClutchPoints, primarily covering events and athletes from the NBA, NFL, NCAA Basketball, and MLB. The Denver native graduated from Colorado State and has previously written at three local news outlets in the area.