After scoring 38 points in a 106–89 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2014–15 season opener, Westbrook suffered a small fracture of the second metacarpal in his right hand the following game against the Los Angeles Clippers and subsequently missed 14 games with the injury. During the game, Westbrook scored his 16,000th career point, making him the 112th NBA player to do so. For all of that success, though, he hasn’t forgotten one lesson learned in tragic circumstances. [73] On January 23, Westbrook hit a pull-up jumper with 1.4 seconds left to lift the Thunder to a 97–95 win over the Utah Jazz. Forty-one games into the season, Westbrook was averaging 30.8 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 10.5 assists per game, marking the latest anyone had averaged a triple-double since Robertson in 1966–67, when he became the first player to average a triple-double for an entire season (30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists). [85] In Game 4 four days later, Westbrook had 35 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists, but could not lead the Thunder to a win, as they went down 3–1 in the series with a 113–109 loss. He played from then on, but on the way he met his friend Khelcey Barrs. Russell Westbrook Gets Sentimental With Latest Jordan Why Not Zer0.2 Colorway. He became the third-fastest player to reach the milestone—Robertson needed 277 games, Johnson needed 656 games, and Westbrook needed 736 games. [113] On January 10, he recorded a career-high 24 assists[114] to go with 24 points and 13 rebounds in a 154–147 double-overtime loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Every day when I get on the floor, I give it my all and play because you never know what tomorrow holds.”. In the playoffs, Westbrook helped guide the Thunder past the Dallas Mavericks in the first round, and then the San Antonio Spurs in the second round. [160][161][162] Westbrook is widely recognized as one of the best all-around players in the NBA. "[174], In February 2015, Westbrook was named Marketing Creative Director of the now folded denim brand True Religion[175] and signed with PepsiCo to become the global face of Mountain Dew Kickstart. [44][45][46] On April 12, he scored a career-high 54 points on 21-of-43 shooting in a losing effort to the Indiana Pacers. It was also Westbrook's sixth triple-double in March, the most by a player in a calendar month since Jordan had seven in April 1989. Westbrook was born in Long Beach, California to parents Russell and Shannon Horton. [42] In much too similar fashion, Westbrook recorded yet another triple-double on March 13 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, collecting his sixth in eight games and scored 15 of his 29 points (with 12 assists and 10 rebounds) in the fourth quarter, helping the Thunder pull away for a 113–99 win. During his senior year, Westbrook averaged 25.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.1 steals, and 2.3 assists and helped lead them to a 25–4 record. That loss, however, helped make Westbrook the star that he is today. Both wanted to play basketball together at the UCLA. At the end of the year, he was named All-Pac-10 Third Team and won the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year. [23] Without Westbrook, the Thunder defeated the Rockets in 6 games, but fell to the Memphis Grizzlies in 5 games in the next round. Rockets - Game Summary - October 24, 2019 - ESPN", "Russell Westbrook joins Hakeem Olajuwon (1993) as the only Rockets players with 20 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists in a season opener in team history. [24] Despite reports that he would miss the first two weeks of the regular season, Westbrook would miss only the first two games. [43] He went on to record three more triple-doubles to finish the season. In fact, UCLA was initially interested in Barrs, not Westbrook. But that plan would never come to fruition. Russell Westbrook, who reinvented the arena walk-in with his daring fashion, didn’t want just any other shoe with his name attached. In these cases, the average was taken. Sky was the limit.