Triple-double

A triple-double is a basketball term, defined as an individual performance in a game in which a player accumulates double-digit totals (i.e., 10 or more) in any three of these categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The most common way for a player to achieve a triple-double is with points, rebounds, and assists, though on occasion elite defensive players may record 10 or more steals or blocked shots in a game. The term itself was coined by renowned Philadelphia 76ers statistical guru Harvey Pollack.

A triple-double is seen as an indication of an excellent all-around individual performance. In the National Basketball Association (NBA), they are rare but not unheard-of, as the top players usually accumulate a little less than 10 in a season (out of a possible 82 games in the regular NBA season). At the collegiate level, however, they are exceptionally rare (though double-doubles are much more common). There are two reasons for this: the shot clock in men's college basketball is 35 seconds as opposed to 24 seconds in the NBA and college games last only 40 minutes instead of 48 in the NBA. Both timing issues considerably reduce the number of possessions in a game and thus the chances for amassing large numbers in any one statistic, much less all three. It should be noted that the criteria for an assist have been relaxed over time. Triple-doubles are also exceptionally rare in games contested under FIBA rules, in which games also run for 40 minutes (albeit with a 24-second clock like that in the NBA).

NBA triple-double facts

• Averaging a triple-double over an entire season: Only one player in NBA history, Oscar Robertson, has ever achieved this feat. During the 1961-1962 season, Robertson averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 11.4 assists per game.
• All-time leader (regular season): Oscar Robertson is also the all-time leader with 181, followed by Magic Johnson with 138, Jason Kidd with 91 as of 11/27/07, Wilt Chamberlain with 78, and Larry Bird is fifth with 59.
• All-time leader (playoffs): Magic Johnson is also the all-time leader with 30, followed by Jason Kidd with 11 (as of May 13th, 2007) and Larry Bird is third with 10.
• Most triple-doubles in a single season: Oscar Robertson holds another record with 41 triple-doubles in one season during the 1961-62 NBA season. Wilt Chamberlain is in second place with 31 triple-doubles in the 1967-68 season.
• Youngest player: LeBron James, aged 20 years and 20 days, logged a triple-double on January 19, 2005, versus the Portland Trail Blazers. He had 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
• Oldest player: Karl Malone is the only 40-year-old player to do so, on November 28, 2003 with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists versus the San Antonio Spurs.
• Double-triple-double: this feat requires at least 20 of any 3 statistics. Wilt Chamberlain is the only player to have accomplished this; in a February 2, 1968 game, Chamberlain's statistics were 22 points, 25 rebounds, and 21 assists.
• Longest continuous streak: Wilt Chamberlain also holds the record for the most consecutive triple-doubles. In 1968, from March 8 to March 20, he recorded a triple-double in nine straight games.

NCAA triple-doubles

• Stephane Lasme of UMass has an NCAA record 4 triple doubles in the 2006-07 season. Lasme joins Jason Kidd (1994 at Cal) and Michael Anderson (1986 at Drexel) as the only college players to tally four triple doubles in a single season. While Kidd and Anderson accomplished the feat by achieving double figures in scoring, rebounds, and assists, Lasme's triple doubles are in scoring, rebounds, and blocks.
• Oscar Robertson, Andre Miller, and Dwyane Wade are the only players who have recorded triple-doubles in NCAA Tournament history.

See also

• Double-double
• Quadruple-double
• Five-by-Five

External links

• List of NBA triple-doubles since the 1986-87 season @ basketball-reference.com