Russell Westbrook Says He's Best Rebounding Guard in NBA History, 'Humbly Speaking'
Following his 204th career triple-double, Russell Westbrook made a bold declaration regarding where he stands among rebounding guards in NBA history.
Speaking to reporters after helping lead the Sacramento Kings to a 121-116 win over the Golden State Warriors, Westbrook said, "Humbly speaking, I'm the best rebounding guard ever. So if the ball come across the rim, I'm going to get it."
Westbrook, who will turn 37 on Nov. 12, finished Wednesday's game with 23 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists.
Those 16 rebounds cemented Westbrook in the record books and lent credibility to his claim, as he became the NBA's all-time leader in career boards by a guard.
Current Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd was the previous leader with 8,725 career rebounds, but now Westbrook tops the list with 8,734.
Westbrook told reporters he wasn't aware he was the new record holder until they informed him after the game, saying, "Oh. Honestly, I didn't even know that. I'm going to need the game ball."
From 2016 to 2021, Westbrook averaged a triple-double in four out of five seasons, and he has averaged 10 or more rebounds per game across five different seasons in his career.
Overall, Westbrook boasts career averages of 21.1 points, 8.0 assists and 7.0 rebounds per contest in 1,245 regular-season games.
Westbrook was at his best during his 11 seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder, as he earned eight of his nine career All-Star selections, as well as two scoring titles and one NBA MVP Award.
In more recent years with the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets and now the Kings, Westbrook has settled into a bench role.
While that has hurt his career averages, he has remained an important and productive player.
In the midst of his first season with the Kings, Westbrook is averaging 15.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game, which represent his best averages since the 2021-22 season, which is the last time he was a full-time starter.
Westbrook got the start Wednesday with Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and Keegan Murray all out, and he went to work on a Warriors team that was without Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green.
Along with helping the Kings get a much-needed win to move to 3-5 on the season, Westbrook took another big step toward cementing his status as a future Hall of Famer.
