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Tracy McGrady says Russell Westbrook’s historic 20-point, 20-rebound, 21-assist performance tops even some of the NBA’s most outrageous scoring nights.
McGrady Makes His Pick
Tracy McGrady has seen plenty of ridiculous individual performances, but one still sits above the rest for the Hall of Famer: Russell Westbrook’s 20-20-20 masterpiece.
Speaking on the Vince & Tmac podcast, McGrady ranked Westbrook’s April 2019 performance ahead of Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game, Bam Adebayo’s 83-point explosion and the 70-plus-point outings produced by stars including Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell and Devin Booker.
For McGrady, the appeal was not simply the size of Westbrook’s numbers. It was the fact that he dominated three major statistical categories at the same time.
The former scoring champion called it “probably the greatest individual performance I’ve seen out of a player.”
Westbrook Joined an Exclusive Club
Westbrook recorded 20 points, 20 rebounds and 21 assists as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Lakers on April 2, 2019.
Only Wilt Chamberlain had previously produced a 20-20-20 game in NBA history, making Westbrook just the second player to reach the mark. Chamberlain had done it more than 50 years earlier.
That rarity is the heart of McGrady’s argument. An 80-point scoring night is almost impossible, but Westbrook had to score, create for teammates and clean up the glass at an elite level during the same game.
For bettors who live in the player-prop section, it is the kind of stat line that looks fictional after the fact. Westbrook did not simply smash one category. He filled the entire box score.
The Night Carried Extra Weight
The performance also came just two days after rapper Nipsey Hussle was killed in Los Angeles.
Westbrook dedicated the game to Hussle and referenced the rapper after leaving the floor, adding a personal layer to an already historic night.
That context has helped the performance retain its place among the defining games of Westbrook’s career rather than becoming another monster triple-double buried in a long list of them.
Retirement Brings Westbrook’s Records Back Into Focus
McGrady’s comments arrive days after Westbrook announced his retirement following 18 NBA seasons.
The 37-year-old leaves as the league’s career triple-double leader with 209. He also finished with 27,176 points and 10,351 assists, becoming one of only two players, alongside LeBron James, to surpass both 25,000 points and 10,000 assists.
His résumé also includes the 2017 NBA MVP award, nine All-Star selections and four seasons averaging a triple-double.
Westbrook’s career will continue to spark arguments over efficiency, shot selection and postseason success. McGrady’s choice cuts through that debate and focuses on what made Westbrook unique at his peak.
Plenty of players have scored more than 20 points in a game. Almost nobody has ever added 20 rebounds and 20 assists to the same ticket.
