Washington Wizards guard Russell Westbrook Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

Russell Westbrook on track to set unfortunate triple-double mark

Originally posted on Sportress of Blogitude
By Jason Rowan | Last updated 4/6/21

Russell Westbrook has long been known as a player capable of stuffing the stat sheet each and every night he steps on the court, and his superstar efforts routinely feature a steady dose of triple-doubles. In his first season with the Washington Wizards, the stats suggest that Westbrook notching those triple-doubles is to the team’s overall detriment.

The Wizards dropped their fourth straight game and seventh of the past 10 Monday night with a 103-101 loss to the Toronto Raptors. Westbrook, however, was his usual dynamic self, posting 23 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in the loss.

The impressive stat line made for Westbrook’s 19th triple-double on the season. While he deserves accolades for attempting to put an awful Wizards team on his back every game, it appears to come at a steep price as it relates to wins and losses.

Russell Westbrook (23p/14r/11a) recorded his 19th triple-double of the season last night, but the Wizards fell to just 8-11 when he does so.

No player in NBA history with at least 10 triple-doubles in a season has finished with a winning percentage below .500 in those games. pic.twitter.com/8BuvKO8M7M
— Justin Kubatko (@jkubatko) April 6, 2021

As laid out in the above tweet, the Wizards are a paltry 8-11 when Westbrook notches a triple-double. If this losing trend continues in such games, Westbrook stands to set an ignominious NBA record.

Heading into Wednesday’s game against the Orlando Magic, the Wizards sit at a woeful 17-32. Only the Magic and Detroit Pistons reside deeper in the Eastern Conference cellar. There is no doubt that Westbrook will continue to try to carry the Wizards as the season winds down.

The only question — at least as it relates to the potential of setting such an unfortunate statistical mark — is whether Westbrook, who currently is averaging a triple-double a game this season (21.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 10.5 assists), can figure out how to translate his ongoing, outstanding nightly output to lead the team to wins instead of losses.

This article first appeared on Sportress of Blogitude and was syndicated with permission.

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