7. Westbrook clinches a triple-double average for the first time since 1962
In 2017, Russell Westbrook did the unthinkable by averaging a triple-double (while also leading the league in scoring with over 30 points) to become the first player to do so (and second ever) since Oscar Robertson did it in 1962 when the game was so different that the 3-point line didn’t even exist yet.
This was Westbrook’s revenge tour proving he could lead a team without Kevin Durant after KD spurned the Thunder in favor of the Warriors. Westbrook successfully did this in the regular season all the way to his first MVP trophy.
However, the day he clinched enough assists, points, and rebounds (a triple-double involves getting double digits in three categories, with these three often being the categories) to officially become the first player to average a triple-double for a season since 1962, is the day that will live in infamy. It was a regular Sunday afternoon, but not for Russell Westbrook as he had a shot at history.
Westbrook clinched the triple-double average for the season on a 3-point kick out to Hamidou Diallo (great trivia answer one day). Not only this, but Westbrook also clinched the most triple-doubles ever in one season on this day by recording a 50-point triple-double (for context Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan had less than 50 triple-doubles combined in their career, none of them 50 point triple-doubles), while Westbrook clinched 42 in a single season.
On this same day, Russell Westbrook would go on to hit one of the best buzzer-beating long-range 3-point game-winning shots you will ever see for the perfect ending to a historic afternoon.