They don’t call Russell Westbrook Mr. Triple-Double for nothing. The NBA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles found himself in a position to make even more history on Sunday against the Philadelphia 76ers, and that’s exactly what he did.
With his triple-double against Philadelphia, Westbrook is now officially the NBA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles as a reserve with four. A few weeks ago against the Orlando Magic, Westbrook tied Detlef Schrempf at the top of the all-time list. Now, Westbrook sits in the No. 1 spot all by himself.
After just three games this season, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham decided to move Westbrook to an off the bench role. It was unclear how Westbrook would react to the move, but it’s safe to say, he welcomed it with open arms.
Westbrook instantly played much better basketball, and, at times, sparked the Lakers to some pretty big victories as the leader of the second unit. He’s already established himself as the favorite to win the Sixth Man of the Year Award, and continues to put together impressive stat lines.
Westbrook entered this season with zero triple-doubles as a reserve. Now, since December 9 — in his last 17 games — he’s had four.
It took Schrempf 612 games off the bench to set the NBA record. It took Westbrook just 54 games to overtake Schrempf’s spot on the top of the list.
Congratulations to Westbrook for setting yet another NBA triple-double record. He’s truly the king of the triple-double.
.