Oklahoma City Thunder star guard Russell Westbrook made some history on Sunday against the Denver Nuggets. On Friday night, Westbrook made history by joining Oscar Robertson as the only two players in NBA history to average a triple-double for the entire season. But on Sunday, Westbrook broke Robertson’s record for the most triple-doubles in one season when he recorded his 42nd in OKC’s win. Plus, he hit a game-winning shot which eliminated the Nuggets from playoff contention.
Oscar Robertson has been outspoken about comparing today’s NBA stars to stars of the past, but for Westbrook, he made a special exception. He’s been on record stating that he wants Russ to break his record. Once Westbrook did, Robertson showered him with praise.
Oscar Robertson wrote a piece for The Undefeated about Westbrook breaking his record.
I could not be happier for him. Congratulations to Russell Westbrook on a magnificent season!
As an athlete in a team sport, your goal first and foremost is to win games. Records are kept for those games. Records are nice to have and they’re part of your legacy, a hallmark of whatever imprint you made on your particular sport.
But more than anything else, records are great fodder for the fans, the talking heads, the bloggers and all the other experts who love to engage in debates about who is or was best in a particular aspect of a sport, and why.
And, forgive the cliché, records are made to be broken. If someone breaks your record, that means they’ve reached a level of excellence that is quantifiable in some respect, and you have to give them respect for doing so.
You can read more from ‘The Big O’ here on The Undefeated.
