DENVER -- The man who drafted Russell Westbrook saw something in the raw, athletic sophomore from UCLA that others did not. But not even a true believer like Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti could have foreseen a year like the one Westbrook has put together this season.

"I think he's getting better," Presti told ESPN after Westbrook broke Oscar Robertson's single-season record with his 42nd triple-double of the season Sunday in a win over the Nuggets.

"I think he's become a better player. With players at that level, it's generally going to happen in these small, incremental ways unless the circumstances change around you. In this case, the circumstances obviously changed. The team is different. It's been a season of discovery for our team and our organization."

By different, Presti was referring to the departure of Kevin Durant via free agency over the summer. In one morning, the Thunder went from Western Conference finalist to a team that might miss the playoffs -- except for the brilliance of Westbrook.

The ninth-year guard from UCLA has now broken Robertson's record for triple-doubles in a season and clinched a season-record average of triple-doubles. The Thunder are 33-9 in games Westbrook posts a triple-double.

Sunday's win, in which Westbrook scored 50 points and hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to cap a 13-point comeback, was one of the most incredible of the season.

"There's a discovery period for Russell that's taking place, and we're at the very front end of that," Presti said. "We're not making any bones about that. We haven't had a tremendous amount of time to understand and to build. It's going to take some time, but I will say that if this is the first year of that process and project for us, he's made it very exciting. I'm proud primarily that as he was accumulating this tremendous season and putting it together and the attention was becoming more and more, he never wavered and never changed and he made sure the group felt a part of it every single day. The first thing he did when he got off the court tonight was step in the locker room and thank everybody in the organization."