Looking at the 5 greatest milestones in Russell Westbrook's career as he joins the LA Lakers
Russell Westbrook's move to the LA Lakers is already official, and there is a lot of noise regarding this trade and how it makes the LA Lakers a 'superteam'. Whether you think that's the case or not, adding a former NBA MVP is not something any franchise, regardless of their current roster, would not try to do.
Westbrook has been criticized for his style of play for many years now, as his individual numbers have not generated collective success for his teams so far. Winning involves so much more than the ability of just one player, so Westbrook and other ring-less superstars are often unfairly criticized.
Nevertheless, Westbrook has become the first MVP in NBA history to be traded in three consecutive off-seasons (from OKC to Houston in 2019, Houston to Washington in 2020 and now from DC to Los Angeles).
Though it might seem that he was the common denominator behind all those teams not working well, Russell Westbrook might've found the right place and especially the right leader in LA in LeBron James.
Although some might think Westbrook is not the superstar he was a few years ago, the evidence shows that he remains a top NBA player, despite some of his apparent shortcomings.
On that note, here's a look at five achievements that will put Russell Westbrook's career in perspective. Without further ado, let's get started:
#5 Russell Westbrook is one of two NBA players with a 20-20-20 game
On April 2nd, 2019, Russell Westbrook had one of the most unbelievable stat lines in NBA history, even coming from a player who has made an illustrious career out of filling the stat sheets.
In a regular-season game against the LA Lakers, Westbrook guided the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 119-103 win over LA at the Thunder's Chesapeake Energy Arena.
While doing so, Russell Westbrook recorded only the second 20-20-20 triple-double in NBA history, as he registered 20 points, 20 rebounds and 21 assists in 36 minutes. Wilt Chamberlain was the first to do so, back in 1968, with 22 points, 25 rebounds and 21 assists for the Philadelphia 76ers against the Detroit Pistons.
#4 Westbrook is one of six players in NBA history to win the scoring and assist titles
Russell Westbrook has won two scoring titles in his career, the first in the 2014-15 campaign and the other during his NBA MVP-winning year in 2016-17.
He has also led the NBA in assists per game on three occasions, making him one of six players in history to lead the league in scoring and assists. The other five players are Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Nate Archibald (only one to do so in the same season), James Harden and LeBron James.
However, Westbrook is the only player to have multiple scoring and assists titles in NBA history. He has won three of the last four assist titles in the NBA and won the scoring title the year before his streak started.