After bullying boxscores for the past 13 seasons, Russell Westbrook has accomplished a feat that was once thought humanly impossible. On Monday night, the nine-time NBA All-Star etched his name in the record books when, after snatching his 10th rebound off of the rim with 8:30 remaining in the fourth quarter, he broke Oscar Robertsonโs longstanding record for the most triple-doubles in NBA history, according to ESPN.
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Hereโs the exact moment that it happened:
And hereโs the moment it was announced in the arena:
We are all witnesses.
Robertson became the triple-double king during the NBAโs 1961-62 season and collected his last triple-double on March 24, 1974. So in order to eclipse the Big Oโs record, Westbrook had to do this:
A triple-double is a single-game performance by a player who accumulates a double-digit number total in three of five statistical categoriesโpoints, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shotsโin a game.
Exactly 182 times. If that sounds absolutely fucking insane, thatโs because it is.
To put this ridiculous feat into context, the next closest active player is LeBron James, whoโs 36 years old and has only done this 99 times.
I think itโs safe to say that nobody will be touching Robertsonโs Westbrookโs record for a while, and to commemorate this accomplishment, members of the NBA community delivered pre-recorded messages to congratulate him:
While others went directly to Twitter and gave him his flowers:
โItโs just a blessing,โ Westbrook told reporters. โYou put so much into the game, so much time, you sacrifice so much, to be able to just be mentioned with guys like Oscar, Magic [Johnson] and Jason Kidd, those guys, is something I never dreamed about as a young kid growing up in L.A. Truly grateful for moments like this.โ
He added, โNormally I donโt like to pat myself on the back but tonight I will. Just because I am so grateful for the ones before me and so blessed.โ
Expect Westbrook to continue his reign of terror in the play-in tournament, where itโs looking like his Wizards will be facing off against either the Pacers, Hornets, or Celtics.
Congrats, Brodie!
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