The Sacramento Kings made a change on Friday moving Russell Westbrook into the starting lineup against the Minnesota Timberwolves amid a brutal start to the season. Although the Kings were on the verge of losing to the Timberwolves as of publication, Russell Westbrook continued to etch his name in NBA history by joining an exclusive club following his latest career milestone.
Russell Westbrook joined LeBron James as the only two players in NBA history to reach the milestone of at least 25,000 career points and 10,000 career assists. With the game late in the fourth quarter, Westbrook had 11 points, eight rebounds and 13 assists in a little over 28 minutes. He was shooting 4-of-10 (40 percent) from the field, 2-of-5 (40 percent) from the three-point line and 1-of-4 (25 percent) from the free-throw line.
Westbrook was the Kings’ big acquisition after he signed with the team during preseason. Westbrook joined the Kings on Oct. 15, and made his Sacramento debut on Oct. 22 during the Kings’ season opener against the Phoenix Suns.
Coming into Friday’s game, he had appeared in 12 games for the Kings so far, including six starts, at a little over 27 minutes per game. Westbrook had been averaging 14.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.0 steals with splits of 44 percent shooting from the field, 39.7 percent shooting from the three-point line and 75.8 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
The No. 4 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, Westbrook began his career with the Oklahoma City Thunder where he played for 11 seasons. Westbrook has also played for the Houston Rockets, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers and Denver Nuggets. He is one of only three players, including Oscar Robertson and Nikola Jokic, to average a triple-double for an entire season.
