Russell Westbrook Just Had One of the Greatest Playoff Games in NBA History

And he did it one day before the 31-year anniversary of Michael Jordan’s historic (and shockingly similar) 63-point game

What’s the greatest individual game in NBA playoff history? Chances are pretty good you answered Michael Jordan’s 63 points against the Celtics, which came 31 years ago today in 1986. And you might have gotten too caught up in the overworked MVP debate to realize you just watched another all-time individual playoff performance last night from Russell Westbrook. Consider the similarities.

Jordan scored 63 points on 22-of-41 shooting, adding five boards, six assists, three steals, and two blocks. He tallied 44% usage, scoring 48% of his team’s total of 131 points in a double overtime four-point road round-one loss.

Westbrook scored 51 points on 17-of-43, adding ten boards, thirteen assists, four steals, and a block. He finished with a 55% usage rate and a 74% assist rate, scoring 46% of his team’s 111 points in a four-point road round-one loss.

Jordan’s team wasn’t any good. The Bulls went 30–52 that year but made the playoffs anyway in a broken system that featured 16 of the league’s 23 teams. He played against Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Bill Walton, Danny Ainge, and Dennis Johnson, a 67-win Celtics team that would go on to win the title. MVP Larry Bird had 36 points and 8 assists in the win, buoyed by 27 from McHale and 24 from Ainge. Jordan’s best teammate Orlando Woolridge shot 9-for-27. His teammates combined to go 25-for-61, a terrible 41% from the field.

Westbrook’s team isn’t very good either. His Thunder earned their way into the playoffs going 47–35 in a playoffs featuring 16 of the league’s 30 teams. He didn’t play against the ‘80s Celtics but the Rockets do have one of the league’s all-time offenses and shooting displays. MVP hopeful James Harden had 35 points and 8 assists in the win, buoyed by 22 from Eric Gordon and 21 from Lou Williams. Westbrook’s best teammate Victor Oladipo shot 4-for-14. His teammates combined to shoot 23-for-54, a paltry 43% from the field.

The Bulls led their game on the road by double digits at the half and deep into the third quarter before the home Celtics rallied to close the gap to three by the start of the fourth, finishing the job from there. The Thunder led their road game by double digits at the half and deep into the third quarter before the home Rockets closed the gap to three to start the fourth, finishing the job from there.

Those are two of only 21 games in NBA playoff history featuring an individual scoring more than 50 points. The only other players to do so are Iverson, Wilt, West, Baylor, Barkley, Barry, Havlicek, Sleepy Floyd, and Sam Jones. Kareem never scored 51 in a playoff game. Neither did Kobe or LeBron.

Among those 21 all-time great scoring playoff games, Russell Westbrook had the most assists, second most rebounds, most steals, and third most blocks, and he did it playing the second fewest minutes. Westbrook’s combined points plus rebounds plus assists total of 74 is the second highest in the last 55 years behind only Hakeem Olajuwon’s 49 points, 25 boards, and two assists. Olajuwon lost that game too, by the way.

Jordan’s 63-point game was undoubtedly better. He’s Michael Jordan, after all. He had his game as a 22-year-old coming off a still-healing broken foot against one of the all-time great NBA teams in an historic arena where the Celtics lost just once the entire season. There’s a reason Larry Bird called him “God disguised as Michael Jordan” that game, you know.

Jordan was more efficient than Westbrook, too. He scored 12 more points and made five more buckets on two less shot attempts. Still, if you were to watch it today, I’m certain you’d still say he took way too many shots and ball-hogged his teammates out of the game.

It’s not like Westbrook didn’t pass, after all. He had 13 assists, which happen to be the most assists ever in a 40-point playoff game among 337 such games in NBA history. Between scoring and passing, Russell Westbrook was responsible for 80 of his team’s 111 points last night, an absurd 72% of the Thunder points. If there’s a player that single-handedly accounted for more of his team’s point total, I sure wasn’t able to find it on Basketball Reference.

Russell Westbrook’s team lost last night, just like Jordan’s did in that fabled 1986 game. But I bet everyone that watched it didn’t sit around the next day crapping on how Jordan came up short in the fourth quarter or how he let down his team or how this game proved once and for all that Jordan was a ball hog loser who would never win anything real. I’m sure a young Skip Bayless found something to complain about, but everyone else was probably too busy appreciating the epic individual performance they’d just witnessed to focus on Jordan’s shortcomings.

Even masterpieces have their flaws. The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows. Michelangelo’s David was sculpted out of a piece of flawed marble another artist gave up on. No truth to the rumor that the previous artist was named Durant.

Russell Westbrook just had one of the all-time no-doubt-about-it incredible single-handed performances in NBA playoff history. How you choose to interpret that sentence might say even more about you than it does about him.

Thanks as always to Basketball Reference, second to oxygen among daily necessities. If you enjoyed this, please recommend by clicking the ❤ so others can too. Follow Brandon on Medium or @wheatonbrando for more sports, humor, pop culture, & life musings. Visit Brandon’s writing archives here.