Russell Westbrook Makes His Way into Record Books with Third Triple-Double of The Season

Washington Wizards star Russell Westbrook is the first player who pops up when thinking about NBA triple-doubles. Brodie enjoyed a historic and third consecutive triple-double of the 2021 season when the Wizards took on the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday.

He became the first player since Oscar Robertson to record triple-doubles in the first three games of the season. Robertson achieved this feat in 1961 while playing for the Cincinnati Royals (now Sacramento Kings).

Westbrook missed the third game against the Orlando Magic but came back in the subsequent fixture to replicate his brilliance. He is currently averaging 19 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 12.7 assists per game. That puts him at the #3 spot for rebounding leaders in the league, and the #2 spot for assists leaders in the league.

Russell Westbrook needs to provide more than just triple-doubles

The Wizards have lost every game they’ve played this season, despite Westbrook scoring a triple-double in each fixture. He has been stuffing the stat sheet individually, but the Wizards are yet to open their account this season.

The main reason behind the losses can be attributed to Westbrook’s shooting. He is averaging 41% from the field, and a disastrous 10% from three at the moment. Taking smarter shots has always been Westbrook’s shortcoming in his career, and it is quite surprising to know that because he boasts a large Basketball IQ.

But the entire blame can’t be put on Westbrook as the Wizards have other capable scorers and shooters like Bradley Beal, Davis Bertans, and Deni Avdija as well.

Moreover, Russell Westbrook needs to focus on getting the win for the team, rather than racking up his individual stats. This has been a recurring complaint against him now, and seems to follow him everywhere he goes.

The positive is that he knows what’s going wrong. After their defeat against the Magic, Westbrook held himself responsible for the loss. “This one is on me — bullshitting around, missing these shots,” he said.

He improved in tonight’s game and shot 52% from the field, but still couldn’t go better than 25% from three. Wizards fans will be hoping that as the season goes on, he can stay consistent with similar numbers. Westbrook’s performance will be the deciding factor in the Wizards’ playoff hopes. They need him to do well, otherwise, it will be an uphill task for them.

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