Washington Wizards guard Russell Westbrook has once again made the sports headlines as the all-time leader in triple-doubles with 182. Given that Westbrook has several years left in his NBA career, fans should expect this number to increase–maybe even breach the 200-mark.

The triple-doubles won't stop. So are the haters who will continue bringing up the fact that Westbrook has not won a title. Ultimately, this point will be raised when it's time to discuss Westbrook's legacy. Do Westbrook's triple-doubles really mean anything? Is he just padding his stats? Or are we seeing one heck of a superhuman effort that we should appreciate? Is Russell Westbrook a Top-5 point guard in NBA history?

There are several ways how analysts and fans determine if a player is truly one of the greats. The simplest way is to look at the number of championship rings on their fingers. We all know about Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Isiah Thomas and Jason Kidd, among others. All these aforementioned players have won at least a title in their playing career. Nobody can ever take that away from them.

However, this manner will leave out a bunch of great point guards who have never won a ring but are well-respected by their peers and fans. They have never had the opportunity to raise the Larry O'Brien trophy up high, but they have left a vast influence on the game. These players are John Stockton, Steve Nash, Allen Iverson and a whole lot more. We're just talking about point guards here. The list will get extremely long if we include every single NBA player who has a strong legacy but has never won a title.

Perhaps this is how we should judge Russell Westbrook. Not for the number of rings on his finger but for his overall impact on the game of basketball. People always accuse him of only caring about his own stats. But the truth is: Westbrook is one of the best rebounders on his team. It would make perfect sense for him to snatch those defensive boards and, given his athletic gifts, run the fastbreak immediately.

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Opposing teams respect Westbrook amid his occasional display of poor decision-making. That's why they tend to collapse on him and Westbrook takes advantage by finding the open man. This sounds like an oversimplification of Westbrook's style, but it truly is his bread and butter.

Another reason why people seem to downplay Westbrook's triple-doubles is that we're currently in the era of advanced statistics. Gone are the days when the league and the media merely present the basic stats to show how a player fared in a game. In a way, we can say that Westbrook is a victim of his era. This new way of looking at numbers has overshadowed his triple-doubles—which in themselves are still a great metric on how a player performed. Not too long ago, players were so desperate to record a triple-double that they would miss their own shots to get the offensive rebound or even fight with their teammates who rebounded the ball before them. Now it seems like a pedestrian statistic. But as Westbrook himself noted, if it's so easy to do it, then why don't others stack triple-doubles by the dozen?

The listing down of the top-five guards in NBA history ultimately is subjective in nature. Whether you're a fan, an analyst, or an NBA veteran, it will all boil down to your preference, to what you choose to look at to determine who's the greatest of them all. In all honesty, Russell Westbrook will not be in most top-five lists, but he will be on several lists which is already something major.