Triple-doubles in the NBA

The triple-double became an officially recorded statistic in the NBA during the 1979–80 season. That season, there were 32 triple-doubles, 12 more than the previous season.^[18][19] From the 1979–80 to the 1990–91 season, the NBA recorded a total of 543 triple-doubles, or 45.25 triple-doubles per season. This can be largely attributed to Magic Johnson, who was responsible for 137 of this time-span's triple-doubles, or about 25.23% of them.^[20] After Johnson retired in 1991, the number of triple-doubles in the league declined. From the 1991–92 to the 2014–15 seasons, there were only 841 triple-doubles, or about 35.04 triple-doubles per season. Jason Kidd recorded the most triple-doubles in this timespan with 107, which was 68 more than second placed LeBron James.^[21][22] However, in the 2015–16 season, the number of triple-doubles recorded in the NBA grew from 46 to 75.^[23][24] From the 2016–17 to the 2018–19 season, the NBA recorded 352 triple doubles, which was approximately 117.33 triple-doubles per season. Over those three years, Russell Westbrook recorded 101 triple-doubles—28.69% of all triple-doubles in that timespan.^[25][26][27]

There has been occasional controversy surrounding triple-doubles made when a player achieves the feat with a late rebound. Players with nine rebounds in a game have sometimes been accused of deliberately missing a shot late in the game in order to recover the rebound. One such case involved a player shooting at his own team's basket. On March 16, 2003, the Cleveland Cavaliers were up 120–95 against the Utah Jazz with four seconds left in the fourth quarter. Following an inbounded ball, Cavaliers guard Ricky Davis shot the ball off his own team's basket to secure the final rebound for a triple double.^[28][29] The move was criticized by players, coaches, and the media.^[30][31] To deter this, NBA rules allow rebounds to be nullified if the shot is determined not to be a legitimate scoring attempt.^[32]

Russell Westbrook holds the NBA record for career triple-doubles with 199. He and Oscar Robertson are the only two players to average a triple-double over a season, with Robertson achieving the feat once and Westbrook achieving the feat four times. Magic Johnson holds the playoff record for career triple-doubles with 30.

WNBA

Triple-doubles have been far more rare in the WNBA than in the NBA; the games are shorter in the WNBA (40 minutes vs 48), there are fewer games (fewer teams) in a season (36 vs 82), and the playing style in the WNBA is more of a team game than relying on star players. As of the 2022 season, 20 triple-doubles have been recorded in the WNBA — 16 in the regular season and four in the playoffs.^[34][35] Sheryl Swoopes, Courtney Williams, and Courtney Vandersloot are tied for third place with two WNBA triple-doubles, while Candace Parker and Sabrina Ionescu are tied for second place with three, and Alyssa Thomas has the all-time record at eleven.^[36]

Alyssa Thomas scored the third overall playoff triple-double and first WNBA Finals triple-double on September 15, 2022 against the Las Vegas Aces,^[37] and the fourth the following game on September 18. Thomas recorded four of her career triple-doubles in the 2022 season, and her fifth through eleventh in the 2023 season.^[38]

On June 12, 2022 in a New York Liberty game, Ionescu became the fourth and youngest WNBA player to achieve multiple triple doubles in a career, while also being the first to both achieve a triple double in three quarters and register at least 12 of each statistic for the triple double.^[39]

In June 2022, Parker became both the first person to reach three triple doubles overall, as well as achieve two or more triple doubles in the same season.^[40]

The following is a list of all WNBA triple-doubles, with the playoff triple-doubles highlighted in italics. Bold numbers indicate the statistic relevant to the triple double.

NCAA Division I

• Most triple-doubles in a career:
  • Men's: Kyle Collinsworth (BYU, 2010–11, 2013–16) with 12 — six in 2014–15 and six again as a senior in 2015–16.^[41] Before the triple-double being tracked as an NCAA statistic, Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati) had 10—five in 1958–59 and five in 1959–60.^[42]
    • Although BYU was forced to vacate all but one of its wins in the 2015–16 season due to improper benefits provided by boosters to another BYU player, Collinsworth's triple-double record was not affected.^[43]
  • Women's: Sabrina Ionescu (Oregon, 2016–2020) with 26 – four in 2016–17, six in 2017–18, eight in 2018–19, and eight in 2019–20.^{[44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52]}
• Consecutive triple-doubles: In Division I men's play, David Edwards (Texas A&M), Penny Hardaway (Memphis State), Tony Lee (Robert Morris), Gerald Lewis (SMU), Shaquille O'Neal (LSU), and Kevin Roberson (Vermont) each recorded two consecutive games with a triple-double.^[53]

In women's play, Danielle Carson (Youngstown State), Kim Rhock (Mount St. Mary's), Nicole Powell (Stanford), Ashley Schrock (Cleveland State), Claire Faucher (Portland State), Brittney Griner (Baylor), and Ny Hammonds (Charlotte) have accomplished this feat once. Powell did so in successive rounds of the NCAA tournament.^[54] Sabrina Ionescu has done so twice, and Chastadie Barrs of Lamar has done so three times, making them the only D-I players of either sex to do so more than once. Barrs is the only player to have recorded consecutive triple-doubles twice in a single season, doing so in 2018–19.^{[48][54][55][56][57][58]}

• Two women are the only NCAA players of either sex in any division to have recorded three consecutive triple-doubles. The first was Carson in the 1985–86 season. She began by recording 12 points, ten, rebounds, and 12 assists against Akron on November 29, 1985. The following day, she recorded 20 points, 12 rebounds, and at least 20 assists against Kent State (her exact assists total in that game is unknown). Finally, on December 2 against Cleveland State, Carson recorded 26 points, 15 rebounds, and 14 assists.^[54] Barrs matched the feat in the 2018–19 season. She began with 17 points, ten rebounds, and 12 steals on January 9, 2019 against New Orleans.^[57] Next, on January 12, Barrs had ten points, 11 rebounds, and ten assists against Central Arkansas.^[58] Finally, on January 16, Barrs recorded 15 points, ten rebounds, and 11 assists against Southeastern Louisiana.^[59]

• Most triple-doubles in a single season:
  • Men's: Kyle Collinsworth (BYU), with six – performed twice: in the 2014–15 season, and again in 2015–16.^[41]
  • Women's: Sabrina Ionescu (Oregon), with eight in the 2018–19 season.
• Triple-doubles in NCAA tournament history:

Men's

The NCAA first recorded individual assists in men's basketball in 1950–51, but stopped doing so after the 1951–52 season, and did not resume keeping track of assists until 1983–84. Blocks and steals were first recorded in 1985–86. Thus, the NCAA officially records ten tournament triple-doubles. However, many tournaments had included assists, steals and blocks in their official boxscores prior to that time, so unofficially this has occurred 18 times.^[60] Only three pre-1986 triple-doubles are included below.

Women's

In women's basketball, the NCAA began keeping track of assists in 1985–86, then blocks and steals in 1987–88, so officially this has occurred 14 times. However, many tournaments had included assists, steals and blocks in their official boxscores prior to that time, so unofficially this has occurred 17 times.^[54] All three triple-doubles that preceded the NCAA's official inclusion of the relevant statistics are included below.

• Others
  • Kalara McFadyen of Memphis achieved perhaps the most unusual triple-double in history, and she did it without scoring a point or even attempting a shot from either the field or the free-throw line. On February 3, 2002, in a women's Division I game against Charlotte, she had 12 assists, 10 steals, and 10 rebounds.^[70][71]

FIBA European Champions Cup and EuroLeague

Much like the WNBA, there are a few reasons why triple-doubles are far more rare in the EuroLeague than in the NBA. The games are 40 minutes long—8 minutes shorter than in the NBA—there are 30 games in a season compared to the NBA's 82, and various rules—such as those on assists—are stricter than that of the NBA.^[73] As of 2019, only seven triple-doubles have been recorded in Euroleague history,^[74] and only three in the modern era of Euroleague basketball (since 2000).^[72] The following is a list of all seven of these triple-doubles:

More information Name, Team ...

Name	Team	Opponent	Season	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Reference
Keith Williams	WKS Śląsk Wrocław	Dinamo Tbilisi	1992–93	30	10	16	[74]
Vasily Karasev	CSKA Moscow	Olympiacos	1994–95	21	10	10	[74]
Bill Edwards	PAOK	Cholet Basket	1999–00	24	15	10	[74]
Derrick Phelps	ALBA Berlin	Iraklis	2000–01 SuproLeague	11	10	12	[74]
Nikola Vujčić	Maccabi Tel Aviv	Prokom Trefl	2005–06	11	12	11	[74]
Nikola Vujčić	Maccabi Tel Aviv	Olimpija Ljubljana	2006–07	27	10	10	[74]
Nick Calathes	Panathinaikos	Budućnost	2018–19	11	12	18	[74]

Close

NBA

Quadruple-doubles have only been possible since the 1973–74 season, when the NBA started recording both blocked shots and steals. It is often speculated by observers that other all-time greats, namely Oscar Robertson (former all time triple-doubles leader with 181, now Russell Westbrook),^[79][80] Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, and Jerry West could conceivably have had quadruple-doubles.^[75] West's biography at NBA.com claims that he once recorded an unofficial quadruple-double with 44 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 blocks.^[81] A biography of Wilt Chamberlain claims that he also recorded an unofficial quadruple-double in Game 1 of the 1967 Eastern Division Finals against the Boston Celtics, when he had 24 points, 32 rebounds, 13 assists, and 12 blocks.^[82]

The reason why [the quadruple-double] is such a hard thing to accomplish is because it requires a player to be completely dominant on both ends of the court without being too selfish—so he can get the assists—and without fouling out trying to block every shot or grab every rebound. A lot of guys can get the points, rebounds and assists, but it's the defensive stuff that messes everybody up. You have to love defense to get a quadruple-double. There's no way around it. ^[1]

— Nate Thurmond

The four players listed below are the only players who have officially recorded a quadruple-double in an NBA game. Except for Thurmond, who retired before the award was established in 1983, all of them have won NBA Defensive Player of the Year at least once. Robertson is the only player who was not a center to accomplish the feat, doing so with steals rather than blocks.^[1]

Legend

 * : Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Only seven other players (Drexler did it twice) have managed to finish with triple-doubles and a total of 9 in a fourth statistical category (statistical categories in which they fell short are in bold):

Notes

• ^a Bird sat out the entire fourth quarter. After three quarters, head coach K. C. Jones informed Bird that he was one steal away from a quadruple-double and asked if he wanted to stay in the game. Bird declined, saying that he "already did enough damage."^[97][98]
• ^b Olajuwon was credited with 9 assists in the original box score. However, after Rockets officials reviewed the game tape and discovered what they believe was an uncredited assist in the first quarter, they revised the box score, crediting Olajuwon with 10 assists and the third quadruple-double in NBA history. NBA's director of operations, Rod Thorn, requested to review the tape. After reviewing the tape, the league disallowed Olajuwon's quadruple-double and announced that his original line—with 9 assists—is official.^[99][100]

Other men's basketball

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (March 2018)

Notes

• ^c This is the only quadruple-double in French National League history.^[102]
• ^d This is the only quadruple-double in National Basketball League history.^[103]
• ^e This is the only quadruple-double in NCAA Division I men's basketball history.^[78] The opponent, Central Baptist, plays in the NAIA.

Women's basketball

• United States college records mostly are accurate as of February 2019^[update]. NCAA records are complete for Divisions I and II, but not for Division III; specifically, entering the 2018–19 season, there have been a total of eight quadruple-doubles in Division III play, and one player, Suzy Venet of Mount Union (1994–1998), had two in her career, both in the 1996–97 season.^[129] NAIA records are also incomplete.^{[according to whom?]}

Notes

Facts

All facts based on data since the 1985–86 season:

• Greatest five-by-fives (most of each stat): Hakeem Olajuwon, on March 10, 1987, became the first in NBA history to record a six-by-five (at least 6 each of all five statistics: points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals).^[183] It took nearly twenty years for the second official occurrence in NBA history. Andrei Kirilenko, on January 3, 2006, recorded a six-by-five against the Lakers.^[184]
• Most five-by-fives in a career: Hakeem Olajuwon leads all players with 6 career five-by-fives.^[182] Andrei Kirilenko, with 3, is the only other player with more than one career five-by-five.^[185]
• Most five-by-fives in the same season: Only twice has a player recorded at least two five-by-fives in a season. Olajuwon with three in the 1993–94 season, and Kirilenko with two in the 2003–04 season.^[186]
• Quickest pair of five-by-fives: Kirilenko performed a five-by-five on December 3, 2003, and completed another just a week later, on December 10, 2003. The second-quickest five-by-fives were completed by Olajuwon on November 5, 1993, and another, 55 days later, on December 30, 1993.
• Quickest to reach a five-by-five in a game: Victor Wembanyama in 30 minutes and 55 seconds vs the Los Angeles Lakers on February 23, 2024^[187]
• Youngest player: Victor Wembanyama is the youngest player to record a five-by-five, which he did on February 23, 2024 when he was 20 years, 50 days of age.^[188]
• Oldest player: Olajuwon is the oldest player to record a five-by-five. His last career five-by-five came on December 30, 1993, at which time he was 30 years, 343 days old.^[189]