Russell Westbrook joins Wilt Chamberlain and himself with 20-rebound, 20-assist night

Westbrook's uniquely dominant impact on the box score is leaving most precedents behind.

From NBA.com News Services

Updated on September 22, 2022 5:54 PM

Russell Westbrook wrote history again with 20-assist, 20-rebound game Monday against the Pacers.

Russell Westbrook’s statistical achievements are putting him in smaller and smaller company — more recently on lists where only he and one other legend have been.

That trend continued on Monday, when Westbrook registered an eye-popping 21 rebounds and 24 assists in Washington’s 154-141 victory against Indiana. The only two players in NBA history to collect over 20 rebounds and 20 assists in the same game before: Wilt Chamberlain and Russell Westbrook.

Russell Westbrook becomes the only player in NBA history to record multiple triple-doubles with 20+ REB and 20+ AST. Wilt Chamberlain is the only other player to have 1 such game. pic.twitter.com/8l31uFBJyh

— NBA History (@NBAHistory) May 4, 2021

Russell Westbrook has the third 10-20-20 game in NBA HISTORY.

He has one of the other two.#WizPacers | @russwest44 pic.twitter.com/ZSyyA0gDQ0

— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) May 4, 2021

The former Kia MVP first accomplished the feat in 2019, while Chamberlain broke that ground some 51 years earlier.

“He’s amazing — superhuman at times,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said after admitting he’s running out of ways to describe what Westbrook does on a nightly basis.

“Point guards don’t do what he does. They’re not built that way.”

Russel Westbrook records a triple-double with 14 points, 21 rebounds and 24 assists.

Westbrook’s numeric assault on the NBA record books is also drawing him ever closer to the hallowed stat-stuffing ground. Monday’s performance (which included 14 points) marked his 178th career triple-double — just three fewer than Oscar Robertson’s all-time record.

Additionally, Westbrook finished with 12 rebounds and 14 assists in the first half, making him the first player over the last 20 seasons to have 12 or more rebounds and 12 or more assists in either half, per Elias Sports.

Westbrook didn’t comment on his place in history after the game, but he’s plenty confident about what he’s doing for Washington, which has won 13 of 16.

“Me personally, I feel like I’m the best playmaker in this league,” said Westbrook, who leads the NBA with 11 assists per game.

As if all that isn’t enough, Westbrook is now statistically assured of averaging a triple-double for the entire season — the fourth time he will have reached that milestone. Before him, Robertson was the only player in NBA history to have averaged a triple-double in a full season.

Westbrook’s late-season surge is helping the Wizards inch closer towards securing a berth in The Play-In Tournament. A win-or-go-home scenario against Westbrook’s relentless production, as well as Wizards All-Star guard Bradley Beal, could make them an unappealing matchup at the edge of the playoff picture.