Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook was chasing history Wednesday night against the Grizzlies (UPDATE: He didn’t make it), as the guard goes for his record 42nd triple-double of the season. But first let’s first take a look back at Westbrook’s first career triple-double, which happened March 2, 2009.
Westbrook, as has been noted time and again, has gone on this incredible tear this season without Kevin Durant, and, interestingly enough, his first career triple-double also came without KD.
On that early March day in 2009, Durant was sidelined by an injury a few days prior. Unlike this season, however, in which he’s been a one-man wrecking crew, Westbrook in 2009 wasn’t yet a dominant force. Still, he finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists to help the Thunder to a 96-87 victory over the Mavericks.
He has 78 career triple-doubles, tied for fourth all-time with Wilt Chamberlain. Flashback to @RussWest44 first-ever triple-double pic.twitter.com/AKSHbNRAgJ
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) April 5, 2017
It’s pretty crazy to not only see young Westbrook and the Thunder’s old court, but just to think about how much the league has changed since that game. The Thunder’s leading scorer that night was Nenad Kristic! And of the 10 starters in that game, only four are still in the league -- Westbrook, Thabo Sefolosha, Nick Collison and Dirk Nowitzki -- and Jason Kidd is now a head coach.
