Russell Westbrook accomplished two notable feats during the Sacramento Kings‘ 113-107 win over the Dallas Mavericks at Golden 1 Center on Saturday. Firstly, Westbrook passed Magic Johnson for seventh place on the NBA’s all-time assists list and spoke about what that meant in his postgame press conference.
“It’s an honor,” Westbrook said. “Magic is one of the greats, and I mentioned this a little earlier, but, yes, Magic did a lot of great things on the court, but growing up in inner city Los Angeles, Magic did a lot for the underserved, continues to do a lot. [It’s] something that I’ve kind of modeled and wanted to make sure the philanthropy side was done.
“And I think for him, that is something that I’m grateful to be able to pass him just because he’s such a legend in so many different ways, and I’m grateful to be able to pass him now,” Westbrook added.”
Westbrook needed just two assists coming into this Mavericks game to pass Johnson (10,141), and he got it done in the first quarter itself. The 37-year-old finished with 21 points (8-16 FG), five rebounds, nine assists, and one steal on the night.
Westbrook now has 10,149 assists to his name, and next on his sights are Mark Jackson with 10,334 and Steve Nash with 10,335. Provided the nine-time All-Star stays healthy the rest of the season, he should be able to pass both of them and get into the top five.
That lone steal Westbrook got here also meant he became just the 14th player in NBA history to record 2,000 steals. It was a fact he was unaware of, and he admitted he never thought he’d accomplish all this.
“Never in my life,” Westbrook stated. “Never, man. I can’t even. That’s why I don’t really take credit. And I can’t even imagine. I mean, I grew up wanting to play football… I always knew, though, if given the opportunity to be able to be somebody, I would take full advantage of it, and that’s why every time I step on the floor, I don’t take anything for granted.
“I don’t take plays or anything for granted because this was given to me not just for basketball but to use as a platform to be able to help and inspire other people,” Westbrook continued. “So, I hope the way I play the game, I hope the way people see me competing, and yes, the records and all great, but I hope it inspires other people and people across the world to do great things in their lives as well.”
Westbrook has become just the second guard in NBA history to reach 25,000 points and 2,000 steals. The first? A certain Michael Jordan.
Westbrook is a statistical marvel. He is also the all-time leader in rebounds among guards and has proclaimed that he is the greatest rebounding guard ever. Westbrook was asked here if any of his accolades meant more to him than others, but none did.
As for this game, the Kings improved to 8-23 with the win. They take on the Los Angeles Lakers next at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday at 9:30 PM ET. The Lakers are, of course, one of Westbrook’s former teams, and with how bad his tenure was there, he’ll be keen to put on a show against them.
