The Denver Nuggets' 132-121 victory versus the Utah Jazz on Monday December 30 featured two triple doubles. Denver's MVP candidate (and three-time NBA regular season MVP) Nikola Jokic had the 144th triple double of his career (36 points, 22 rebounds, 11 assists), and his teammate Russell Westbrook had the 201st triple double of his career (16 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists). Jokic ranks third all-time in triple doubles, behind only Oscar Robertson (181) and Westbrook (201), who became the triple double king in 2021. While Jokic had the "bigger" triple double versus Utah, Westbrook had the more uncommon triple double: Westbrook did not miss a shot (7-7 FG, 2-2 FT) and did not commit a turnover, authoring just the third "perfect" triple double since the NBA began officially tracking individual turnovers during the 1977-78 season. Jokic (in 2018) and Domantas Sabonis (earlier this season) are the only other players who have had "perfect" triple doubles. This is the second time that Westbrook shot 100% from the field during a triple double game.
Denver Coach Michael Malone effusively praised Westbrook: "First-ballot Hall of Famer, one of the greatest point guards to ever play the game. And what I admire so much about him, aside from the leadership and toughness that he brings every single day, is he's got no ego." Malone added, "He came here for one reason and that's to help us win a championship. And he hates to lose, and that's another thing I love about him. He's built the right way, and I'll go to war with Russell Westbrook any day."
If you understand basketball in general and the NBA game in particular, then you love the way Westbrook plays. Hubie Brown praises Westbrook to the sky. Unfortunately, many uninformed media members--including Amin Elhassan and Zach Harper--look for any excuse to bash Westbrook and minimize the value of his accomplishments. Contrary to what Westbrook's loudest critics often assert, rebounds are not fungible in general, and Westbrook's rebounds specifically are not fungible.
Seven of the top 12 career leaders in triple doubles are active players. It could be argued that triple doubles in general are easier to get now than in previous eras due to lenient scorekeeping for assists, but it is biased and foolish to praise some players' triple doubles while acting as if the triple doubles by the all-time triple double leader are worthless; the distance between Westbrook and Robertson on the career triple double list--20--would tie Charles Barkley and Tom Gola for 29th all-time. Kevin Durant, Scottie Pippen, Bill Russell, Kevin Garnett, and Stephen Curry are just a few of the Hall of Famers/future Hall of Famers who have less than 20 career triple doubles. In other words, Westbrook is head and shoulders above everyone in terms of triple doubles, and the margin of his dominance cannot be explained just by the nature of how the game is played now or by how statistics are recorded now.
Denver fans need not concern themselves with how easy or difficult it is to get a triple double, or with how many career triple doubles Jokic and Westbrook will have, because what matters most now for their team is that Westbrook's energy and unselfishness are, as I predicted, a breath of fresh air for a Nuggets team that lacks depth.