Washington Wizards: Russell Westbrook officially sits atop the triple-double throne

After 47 years, a new man is sitting atop the NBA’s triple-double mountaintop. In the Washington Wizards’ 125-124 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, Russell Westbrook recorded 28 points, 13 rebounds, and 21 assists, the 182nd triple-double of his career. He has officially passed Oscar Robertson for the most triple-doubles in NBA history.

Robertson’s triple-double excellence had long been seen as an untouchable accomplishment. And it was for a long time. His all-time mark of 181 triple-doubles stood for 47 years. Then Russell Westbrook turned that all on its head when he averaged a triple-double during the 2016-17 season. He’s now done that four times, including this season. Robertson only did it once.

Move over, Oscar Robertson. There’s a new triple-double king in the NBA: Russell Westbrook.

This is not the first triple-double record Westbrook has set this season. He already broke the Wizards franchise records for triple-doubles in a season and all-time. And were this season a full 82 games, Westbrook may have even broken another triple-double record.

Westbrook has now recorded a triple-double in 17 of the Wizards’ last 20 games. It’s his 36th triple-double of the season, the third-most in a single season in NBA history. If this were a full season, Westbrook would currently be on pace to tie the single-season triple-double record he set while with Oklahoma City Thunder during his 2016-17 MVP season (42).

Of course, records are meant to be broken, and maybe someone will come along and knock Westbrook off the throne. However, looking at active players and where they stack up, it’s hard to pick a player that could challenge Westbrook’s mark. LeBron James is second among active players with 99 triple-doubles, a gap that he certainly can’t close before retiring.

It’s obvious Westbrook isn’t finished racking up triple-doubles, either. Each additional one will just make his total an even more insurmountable one. Looking at current active players, it’s tough to see any of them breaking Westbrook’s still-growing record. The three that may have a shot are Nikola Jokic (56), Luka Doncic (35), and Ben Simmons (32). But they’re all trailing Westbrook by quite a bit.

For now, Russell Westbrook sits alone on the throne as the new triple-double king.