Westbrook, Russell (1988-…), is a star guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Westbrook, who stands 6 feet 3 inches (191 centimeters) tall, has been a top scorer and passer throughout his career in the NBA. In the 2014-2015 season, he led the league in scoring with an average of 28.1 points per game. He led the league in scoring again in 2016-2017 with an average of 31.6 points per game. Westbrook played the first 11 seasons of his professional career for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He played for the Houston Rockets during the 2019-2020 season. The Rockets traded Westbrook to the Washington Wizards before the 2020-2021 season. He joined the Los Angeles Lakers before the 2021-2022 season. Westbrook joined the Los Angeles Clippers after a trade in 2023. He signed a contract with the Denver Nuggets in 2024.
Westbrook is one of two players in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season. To achieve a triple-double, a player must reach double-digit figures in three of five categories in a game. The categories are points scored, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. Westbrook averaged a triple-double in points scored, assists, and rebounds during each of the 2016-2017, 2017-2018, 2018-2019, and 2020-2021 seasons. The only other player to average a triple-double for an entire season was Oscar Robertson in 1961-1962. Westbrook also set an NBA record for triple-double games in a single season with 42 in 2016-2017. Westbrook broke Robertson’s career record of 181 triple-doubles during the 2020-2021 season.
Russell Westbrook III was born in Long Beach, California, on Nov. 12, 1988. He played basketball at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) for two seasons from 2006 to 2008. In 2008, he left UCLA after his sophomore year to enter the NBA draft. He was selected fourth in the first round by the Seattle SuperSonics. The team moved to Oklahoma City shortly after the draft and changed its name to the Oklahoma City Thunder. In 2012, Westbrook was a member of the United States team that won the gold medal in the Summer Olympic Games.
