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There are two people that don’t really care about Russell Westbrook’s running quest to join Oscar Robertson as the only player in NBA history to average a triple-double for a season: Russell Westbrook and Oscar Robertson.
Robertson appeared on NBA TV Wednesday night, and the Hall of Famer had little worry about the Thunder guard’s historic pace this season.
“I wouldn’t care. I hope he gets [a triple-double average this season],” Robertson said in an NBA TV segment called The Art of the Triple-Double. “Why should I care, man? I hope he does. I think it’s great to talk about it.”
The segment about Westbrook begins at the 1:05 mark.
Westbrook is, indeed, sitting on a triple-double 60 games into the season. His averages of 31.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 10.3 assists per game have vaulted him into the two-man Most Valuable Player of the Year race next to Rockets guard James Harden.
But if you recall, Westbrook isn’t nearly as concerned with stuffing stat sheets as he is filling up the win column.
In mid-December, he got tired of the triple-double rhetoric as an entirety.
“Honestly, man, people and this triple-double thing is kind of getting on my nerves, really," Westbrook said, according to The Oklahoman's Brett Dawson. "People think if I don't get it, it's like a big thing. When I do get it, it's a thing. If y'all just let me play -- if I get it, I get it. If I don't, I don't care. It is what it is. I really don't care. For the hundredth time. I don't care. All I care about is winning, honestly. All the numbers shit don't mean nothing to me.”
Asked if he felt he could sustain his triple-double average for a season, he said: "I don't know what's realistic. I just go out and play every night, man. That's it. I really don't care what people think is real or not."
There are 22 games left in Oklahoma City’s season, and all signs point toward Westbrook joining the illustrious one-man group.
But only us outsiders seem to care.