National Basketball Association

LeBron James praises Russell Westbrook for triple-double outburst

Published Dec. 9, 2016 12:33 p.m. ET

Rob Perez

LeBron James is arguably the best basketball player in the world, if not the consensus pick. We all know this — whether you are a fan of his or not. His greatness, achievements and talent are unquestioned. Thus, when he speaks, we listen.

On Saturday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Detroit Pistons 106-88 and Russell Westbrook posted yet another triple-double (17 points, 13 rebounds, 15 assists). It was the 44th triple-double of Westbrook's career, tying him with the almighty LeBron James. While that is an achievement in itself, Westbrook has accomplished this in 395 fewer games than LeBron did.

Russell Westbrook notches his 7th triple-double of the season (17p, 15a, 13r) to lead the @OKCThunder at home! #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/sfZOQvs5f1
— NBA (@NBA) November 27, 2016

LeBron couldn't help but recognize Russ' greatness on Sunday morning:

@russwest44 is an ANIMAL out there!! Keep going brodie. https://t.co/FPkrRqk8No
— LeBron James (@KingJames) November 27, 2016

Westbrook is now averaging 31.1 points, 9.94 rebounds, 11.1 assists per game — just 0.06 rebounds away from AVERAGING a triple-double. These are statistics we haven't seen since Oscar Robertson, but he's got some work to do to catch the most memorable box score performer in NBA history:

Westbrook has been so special this season, he's even drawing "Hall of Fame" praise from his head coach:

'Tis the holidays indeed; welcome to #BrodieSZN...