Inside The Nuggets

Russell Westbrook Makes NBA History in Kings-Nuggets

Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook is now first all-time in a major category.
Joey Linn|
Dec 13, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook (4) reacts after a play in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Ball Arena.
Dec 13, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook (4) reacts after a play in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Ball Arena. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

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Denver NuggetsSacramento Kings

The Denver Nuggets hit the road on Monday night to face the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Arena. Defeating the LA Clippers at home on Friday, the Nuggets entered this game looking to make in consecutive wins over Pacific Division teams.

It was announced before the game that Nuggets guard Christian Braun had been ruled out with a low back strain. Braun had appeared and started in all 23 games for Denver this season. Going with two point guards, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone opted for Russell Westbrook in the starting lineup.

Entering this game, Westbrook was averaging 14.2 points, 8.4 assists, and 5.2 rebounds on 52.1 percent from the field as a starter. The Nuggets went 4-1 in the games, all of which came without Murray. This was Westbrook’s first start alongside Murray, and he made NBA history.

Russell Westbrook
Dec 16, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook (4) dribbles the ball up the court against Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox (5) at Golden 1 Center. | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Pulling down his 7th rebound of the game, Westbrook moved into sole possession of first all-time in rebounds for a point guard (via StatMuse and Basketball Reference's StatHead). The best rebounding guard in NBA history now stands alone atop this exclusive list.

Jason Kidd has 8,725 rebounds in his NBA career, but both StatMuse and StatHead have him as a shooting guard in the final season of his career when he grabbed 323 rebounds. Per both databases, Kidd grabbed 8,402 rebounds as a point guard, which Westbrook has now surpassed with 8,405.

Westbrook entered this game averaging 7.1 rebounds per game for his career. The nine-time NBA All-Star has averaged at least 10 rebounds per game four different times, also averaging a triple-double each of those seasons.

Breaking several NBA records in his Hall of Fame career, Westbrook added another in Monday night’s game against the Kings.

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Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA and WNBA for On SI. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined On SI to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts and in the classroom earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time, primarily serving as a Clippers beat writer.

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