National Basketball Association

Russell Westbrook's triple-double hasn't been seen since Magic Johnson

Published Mar. 10, 2016 11:46 a.m. ET

foxsports

We're running out of ways to describe Russell Westbrook. The Oklahoma City Thunder point guard was essentially perfect in every way on Wednesday night, throttling the Los Angeles Clippers with his 11th triple-double of the season.

But even that portrait low-balls just how historic this performance really was; Westbrook's numbers eviscerated what would typically be viewed as a tremendous accomplishment. He danced on clouds last night, reaching a level no player in the NBA has seen since Magic Johnson. The Clippers couldn't do anything about it:

Last night, Russell Westbrook became 1st player with 25 Pts, 20 Ast & 10 Reb in a game since Magic Johnson (1988) pic.twitter.com/wKvhSnd1vo
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 10, 2016

Thunder teammate Kevin Durant, himself one of the world's three best players, had to stop and marvel at Westbrook's 25-point, 20-assist, 11-rebound pearl (via ESPN):

"NBA 2K," Kevin Durant said. "On rookie."

As Stephen Curry sets the gold standard for efficient, unanswerable bucket-getting, Westbrook has quietly morphed into a wrecking ball that's really good at basketball and plays like it's out for revenge.

Look how impossible he is to stop in transition. Chris Paul is a feisty little pit bull...who wants absolutely no part of Westbrook on this play:

But, honestly, he does this stuff every night. What's more impressive was his intuition. Westbrook is oft (unfairly) criticized for having selfish tendencies, but his reads against the Clippers -- and their top-six defense -- were pristine.

Westbrook isn't the NBA's MVP, but a safe case can be made that he's more valuable to the Thunder than Durant. Oklahoma City is outscored by 3.2 points per 100 possessions when Westbrook is on the bench, and they're only outscored by 0.6 points without KD.

Of course, comparing the two is ultimately meaningless. Both are transcendent talents, and it'll be fascinating to watch how their postseason unfolds.

It may be their final run on the same side, and Westbrook is playing like someone who wants it to last forever.