Throughout Russell Westbrook’s illustrious thirteen-year career, he has been idolized for many elements of his game – his monstrous dunks, lockdown defense, and visionary leadership. But over the years, a sizable portion of fans and the media started to condemn Westbrook for his excessive accumulation of triple-doubles throughout his MVP-candidate seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder. In the basketball world, this is known as “stat-padding” and it can be seen in games through stealing rebounds from teammates or attempting shots late in the game if the score isn’t close. Russell Westbrook has been accused of being put in multiple of these scenarios, and thus, many are discounting the real value of his triple-doubles to the team.

However, Westbrook has responded to critics on several occasions throughout the years. In an interview with reporters at practice back on April 11, 2018, Westbrook had this to say regarding the situation:

“A lot of people make jokes about stat-padding or going to get rebounds. If people could get 20 rebounds a night, they would. If people could get 15 rebounds, they would. The people that’s talking and saying whatever they need to say, they should try and do it and see how hard it is. Since everybody wants to be talking… I’m tired of hearing the same old rebound-this, stealing rebounds, all this [expletive]. I take pride in what I do. I come out and play and I get the ball faster than somebody else gets to it. That’s just what it is. If you don’t want it, I’ma get it. Simple as that.” – Slamonline.com

And just a few days ago, Westbrook told fans not to take his triple-doubles for granted.

“I honestly believe there is no player like myself and if people want to take it for granted, sorry for them. I’m pretty sure if everybody could do it, they would do it. I honestly make sure I impact the game in many ways every night; defending, rebounding, passing, whatever it is my team needs from me to win. That’s what I do. I really don’t, honestly, I don’t care what people think about it.” – NBCWashington.com

The Wizards have been on a scorching streak these past few weeks, winning eleven out of their last thirteen games. And much of their recent success has been credited to Westbrook’s elevated play, which is evident by his mind-boggling amount of triple-doubles during that stretch. In this last month alone, Westbrook has secured thirteen triple-doubles, which is now the all-time NBA record for triple-doubles produced in a single month. He overthrew Wilt Chamberlain’s record, who had eleven triple-doubles back in 1968. Westbrook has 30 triple-doubles overall during the regular season, which is the fifth-highest in an NBA regular season in history. This is especially incredible considering the Wizards still have ten games left in their season left to play. Furthermore, Westbrook secured his 176th career triple-double, which puts him only five away from tying Oscar Robertson’s all-time career record of 181 and six away from passing him to become the NBA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles.

The Wizards were in need of a change before last month. It was unknown if they would make the playoffs, and they were desperate for someone to push them over the hump. That person was Russell Westbrook, and not only did Westbrook fulfill that role, but he exceeded it. Now, the Wizards sit 10th in the Eastern Conference standings, and they are currently eligible to make the play-in tournament. If they win this tournament, they will conclude their season as the eighth seed, and they will make the playoffs for the first time since 2018.