ATLANTA — Russell Westbrook floated off the man he was covering, anticipated the pass into the lane and slipped back to pick it off.
Then he sped off the other way, with only a single defender able to get back and Victor Oladipo serving as wingman. At about the 3-point line, Westbrook whipped a bounce pass toward his teammate, who took it from there for a layup.
With that, Westbrook earned his 10th assist and another triple-double.
It wasn’t even midway through the third quarter.
“He can do so many different things,” Atlanta’s Thabo Sefolosha marveled after Monday night’s 102-99 loss to Westbrook and the Thunder. “It’s definitely mind-blowing. And the way he does it. He’s everywhere.”
Seems that way, for sure.
The Oklahoma City star is working on one of the greatest seasons in NBA history, having already piled up 11 triple-doubles in the Thunder’s first 22 games.
He’s had six in a row, the league’s longest such streak since Michael Jordan had seven straight in 1989.
More impressively, Westbrook is averaging 31 points, 11.3 assists and 10.9 rebounds through more than a quarter of the season.
The last player to average a triple-double for an entire season was Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson in 1961-62. He finished at 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists.
“Obviously, the league hasn’t seen something like this in a long, long time,” Thunder Coach Billy Donovan said.
To give it a bit more perspective, Jordan’s streak came during a season in which he finished with 15 triple-doubles.
Westbrook is only four off that total with 50 games still to go.
No wonder he heard chants of “MVP! MVP!” – even while playing on the road.
“It’s crazy, man,” Westbrook said.
“It’s definitely catching me off guard.”
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