Paul George raved about teammate Russell Westbrook after an iconic performance saw him trot out a 20-point, 20-rebound, 21-assist performance against the hapless Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

The Oklahoma City Thunder point guard planned to honor the late Nipsey Hussle, also from his hometown of LA, by going all out with a blockbuster performance — one that had been only replicated once in NBA history, when Wilt Chamberlain did it on Feb. 2, 1968:

“It's just epic,” said George, also a Southern California native, according to ESPN's Royce Young. “Man, the heart of that guy over there, honestly, is what's so amazing about it.

“It's the way he's made up. There's not many made like Russ. It takes somebody special to go out and have a performance like that, especially with how heavy his heart was for the loss of Nipsey.”

Related NewsArticle continues below
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots in the third quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves during game two of the western conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center.
Paul Pierce’s savage reaction to Thunder’s 2-0 lead vs Timberwolves
Jalen Williams Adidas James Harden sneakers, Adidas Harden Vol. 9
Thunder’s Jalen Williams is releasing his own Adidas James Harden sneakers

This was also Westbrook's eighth career game with at least 15 points, 15 rebounds, and 15 assists, tying Chamberlain for the second-most such games in NBA history, according to Justin Kubatko of StatMuse.

Tuesday's performance against the Lakers was Westbrook's 31st triple-double of the season, tying him with “The Stilt” for the third-most triple-doubles in a single regular season.

There are no words to describe what it's like to witness such an all-out performance at such a great stage, and to do it with the motivation he had is to be commended, even if Westbrook was out there during garbage time.