CATAPULTED BY A mid-February All-Star MVP performance, the Oklahoma City point guard has been on a triple-double tear. In 13 games between the break and St. Patrick's Day, Westbrook averaged a triple-double: 32.5 points, 10.8 assists, 10.0 rebounds. "He's upped his game," says Oscar Robertson, the only player in NBA history to average a triple-double over an entire season (1961-62). And when the Big O says "up," he means it. Against the Sixers on March 4, Westbrook took an inbounds pass in stride and a few seconds later scored on a powerful two-handed slam. With an assist from Sport Science, check out the data behind the signature play of his signature season.
The Ranking Of The Guard
Overall score: 8.48
Leadership: 7.84
Average: 6.10
Rank: 8th
Defense: 7.45
Average: 5.93
Rank: 5th
Passing/Playmaking: 8.52
Average: 6.80
Rank: 5th
Shooting/Scoring: 9.87
Average: 6.65
Rank: 2nd
Dunks By The Numbers
21.6 mph: Westbrook's top speed when driving to the basket. At this rate, he dribbles only once every 16.2 feet.
27.16: Maximum acceleration, in feet per second squared, during Westbrook's coast-to-coast play. Sprinter Usain Bolt's acceleration is 31 feet per second squared.
3.36 seconds: Time it takes Westbrook to travel from baseline to baseline. That's more than half a second faster than the time it takes a typical NBA player to cover the same distance.
11.5 feet: Height of the ball at the top of his vertical-more than 5 feet above Westbrook's height of 6-foot-3.
9 feet: Horizontal distance Westbrook flew after taking off on the dunk. His air time during that flight: more than half a second.
18.1 feet: Projected length of that jump if he didn't need to put the ball through the rim. It's the average length of a pickup truck.
900 degrees per second: Approximate rotational velocity of Westbrook's forearms during the overhead two-handed jam. Combine his flight speed and the angular speed of his forearms, and the math says his hands were moving at more than 40 mph.
297: Number of Westbrook's career dunks (through March 24), or 0.85 every 48 minutes.* The average 6-foot-3 player dunks 0.03 times every 48 minutes.
6: Factor by which he dunks more often than a player his height should.* His dunk rate suggests that he plays more like someone who's 6-9.
* Source: NBA Statscube