Westbrook's ridiculous stat to put him above the greats

With his 27-point, 18-rebound, 14-assist game against the New York Knicks today, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook is officially averaging a triple-double this season.

While the campaign is only 18 games old, the 28-year-old is putting up numbers not seen since the days of Oscar Robertson.

LeBron James has never done it, Michael Jordan never did it and even Magic Johnson couldn't reach Westbrook's levels.

'The Big O' averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists per game for the Cincinnati Royals in the 1961-62 season, when only nine teams made up the entire NBA and just one was on the west coast.

Oklahoma City will travel a lazy 60,000 kilometres, often flying into cities in the early hours of the morning, to complete the regular season.

Following the 112-103 win over New York, during which it took Westbrook just 20 minutes of game time to earn a triple-double, his averages sit at 30.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 11.3 assists and the competition is hardly even close.

LeBron James averages 23.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 9.7 assists per game, which is the closest he has come to averaging a triple-double in his career.

Michael Jordan hardly gives Westbrook trouble, with his best effort coming in 1988-89 when he averaged 32.5 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson got near the mark in 1981-82 with his 18.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game, though even that isn't quite as impressive given the lower points total.

Westbrook's triple-double against the Knicks was his eighth of the season, five ahead of LeBron James and James Harden's three apiece and nearly halfway to his own total of 18 in the 2015-16 season.

It was also the 45th of his career, drawing him level with LeBron James - in only 606 games, no less, to LeBron's 1001 - and 14 behind Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird.

With 64 games left in the season there is plenty of water to go under the bridge, but Westbrook is making a serious push for his first MVP award - not to mention all that history.