Throwback Thursday: Russell Westbrook's 20/20/20 Game

Just over four years ago, Russell Westrbook made history with one of his career defining performances. In a 119-103 win against the Los Angeles Lakers, he put up an unbelievable statline: 20 points, 21 assists and 20 rebounds.

It marked the second game in NBA history that a player recorded a 20/20/20 line, only being accomplished before by the dominant Wilt Chamberlain in 1968.

The performance wasn't only special because of the box score itself, but because of the story behind it.

Rapper and close friend of Westbrook, Nipsey Hussle, passed away just a few days before on Mar. 31 after being shot and killed outside of his store in Los Angeles.

Nipsey Hussle and Westbrook both grew up in Los Angeles and formed a great relationship between each other. The rapper would become involved with Westbrook's foundation by helping serve Thanksgiving dinner to his guests, and Westbrook would visit Nipsey Hussle to celebrate the opening of his clothing store.

The death of a close friend affected Westbrook deeply as it would anyone, but with a couple of days off to mourn his loss, the former MVP was ready for the performance that we would later dedicate to Nipsey Hussle after the game.

The significance of 20/20/20 goes even deeper.

When you add up the numbers you get 60, which correlates to the 60s -- Nipsey Hussle's Los Angeles neighborhood.

Giving such a performance is only something Russell Westbrook could possibly do. While we don't know if Westbrook had aimed for those numbers before the game, it just seemed like destiny.

The 2018-19 Thunder were struggling in games after the All-Star break, but Westbrook's performance catapulted the team to a solid five-game winning streak to end the season on a high note heading into the playoffs.

Following the game, Westbrook said it was "Just an unbelievable moment that I definitely won't take for granted, won't let pass by".

He also added, "[I'm] just completely humbled and thankful to go out and play, man. I don't even know what to say, how to put it into words, honestly. I just do what I can, honestly."

The performance helped give a grieving Westbrook closure of the passing of a great friend, and an emotional moment that NBA and Thunder fans will never forget.

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