Theo Maledon tied Russell Westbrook in Thunder rookie history

On Friday, Theo Maledon made etched his name into the Oklahoma City Thunder history books during a 118-109 victory over the Atlanta Hawks at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Maledon produced 13 points, a career-high 12 assists and four rebounds in 34 minutes of work for his first career double-double. His 12 assists tied a Thunder franchise for a rookie, tying the mark Russell Westbrook set during the 2008-09 season.

“The thing that he did tonight — I’ve talked a couple of times about him playing more aggressively hitting the gas, and he’s had little flickers of that throughout the course of the season,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “I thought tonight he played in that mode and I thought it created a lot of advantages for him.”

The second-round pick has emerged as a key contributor with the Thunder recently, starting in each of his past 13 games on the court. Since entering the starting lineup on Jan. 25, Maledon is averaging 10.2 points, 3.8 assists and 3.4 rebounds.

Maledon has emerged as a solid player this season and even elevated his production once entering the starting lineup. The Thunder are certainly building toward the future and the 19-year-old appears to have carved out a role for himself moving forward.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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