In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term refers to the two (double) categories and the second "double" refers to accumulating ten or more (typically double digits) in that category. Similarly, a player records a triple-double, quadruple-double, and quintuple-double when accumulating ten or more in three, four, or all five of the statistical categories, respectively. While double-doubles and triple-doubles occur regularly each NBA season, only four quadruple-doubles have ever officially been recorded in the NBA,[1] and no quintuple-double has ever been recorded in a professional basketball game. A similar term, the five-by-five, is the accumulation of at least five in all five statistical categories. It is rarely done.
Double-double
A double-double is a performance in which a player accumulates a double-digit total in two of five statistical categories—points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots—in a game. The most common double-double combination is points and rebounds, followed by points and assists.[2] During the 2008–09 NBA season, 69 players who were eligible for leadership in the main statistical categories recorded at least ten double-doubles during the season.[3]
Since the 1983–84 season, Tim Duncan leads the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the points–rebounds combination with 841 double-doubles, John Stockton leads the points–assists combination with 714, and Russell Westbrook leads the rebounds–assists combinations with 142. Since the 1983–84 season, Tim Duncan also holds the record for most total career double-doubles in the NBA, having recorded 841. In league history, the record for most career double-doubles is 968, held by Wilt Chamberlain.
Special double-doubles are rare. One such achievement is sometimes called a 20–20, double double-double, or double-20, when a player accumulates 20 or more in two statistics in a game.[4][5][6] Another similar feat is a 30–30.[7] The only player in NBA history to record a 40–40 is Wilt Chamberlain, who achieved the feat eight times in his career, four of which were in his rookie season.[8]
Longest continuous streak of double-doubles: According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Wilt Chamberlain holds the record with 227 consecutive double-doubles from 1964 to 1967.[9] Chamberlain also holds the second- and third-longest continuous streaks of double-doubles with 220 and 133.[9] This record is before the ABA–NBA merger in 1976. The longest streak of double-doubles since the merger was 53 games, achieved by Kevin Love, then of the Minnesota Timberwolves.[10]
Youngest player: Tracy McGrady (Toronto Raptors), aged 18 years and 175 days, logged a double-double on November 15, 1997, versus the Indiana Pacers. He had ten points and 11 rebounds.[11]
A triple-double is a single-game performance by a player who accumulates a double-digit number total in three of five statistical categories—points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots—in a game. The most common way for a player to achieve a triple-double is with points, rebounds, and assists, though on occasion players may record 10 or more steals or blocked shots in a game.[13] The origin of the term "triple-double" is unclear. Some sources claim that it was coined in the NBA by former Los Angeles Lakers public relations director Bruce Jolesch in the 1980s in order to showcase Magic Johnson's versatility,[14][15] while others claim that it was coined by then Philadelphia 76ers media relations director Harvey Pollack in 1980.[16][17]
Russell Westbrook holds the record for the most NBA career regular season triple doubles with 198, and is the only player to average a triple-double over four different seasons.
Oscar Robertson is second in NBA career regular season triple-doubles with 181, and was the first of two players to average a triple-double over an entire season.
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 198. 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.
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 teams and fewer games 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, 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 nine.[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, sixth, and seventh 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.
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]
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.
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 nine 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 17 times.[60] Only three pre-1986 triple-doubles are included below.
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.
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.[69][70]
FIBA European Champions Cup and EuroLeague
Nick Calathes is the most recent EuroLeague player to record a triple-double, doing so in 2019, and the first to record one since 2006.[71]
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.[72] As of 2019, only seven triple-doubles have been recorded in Euroleague history,[73] and only three in the modern era of Euroleague basketball (since 2000).[71] The following is a list of all seven of these triple-doubles:
CenterDavid Robinson is the most recent NBA player to accomplish the feat of a quadruple-double by recording at least 10 points, rebounds, assists, and blocks in a game.
A quadruple-double is a single-game performance by a player who accumulates ten or more in four of five statistical categories—points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots—in a game. This feat is extremely rare:[74][75] only four players have officially recorded a quadruple-double in National Basketball Association (NBA) history. The first American male player above the high school level to officially record a quadruple-double was Nate Thurmond, who achieved this feat in 1974 while playing for the NBA's Chicago Bulls. The first American female player above the high school level to officially record a quadruple-double was Ann Meyers, who achieved this feat in 1978 while playing for the UCLA Bruins, when women's college sports were under the auspices of the AIAW.[76]
The first male player in NCAA Division I history to record a quadruple-double was Lester Hudson in 2007.[77] The first Division I women's player to have officially recorded a quadruple-double since the NCAA began sponsoring women's sports in 1981–82 was Veronica Pettry of Loyola–Chicago in 1989. Only three other women have done so since, and the only player to have recorded a quadruple-double since 1993 is Shakyla Hill of Grambling State, who accomplished the feat in 2018 and 2019. An earlier player, Jackie Spencer of Louisville, accomplished the feat against Cincinnati during the 1984–85 season, but the NCAA did not record assists and steals throughout Division I women's basketball at that time. The Metro Conference, then home to both schools, did officially record these statistics, but the NCAA did not start doing so until 1985–86 for assists and 1987–88 for steals.[54]
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),[78][79]Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, and Jerry West could conceivably have had quadruple-doubles.[74] West's biography at NBA.com claims that he once recorded an unofficial quadruple-double with 44 points, 12 rebounds, ten assists, and ten blocks.[80] 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.[81]
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.
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.[82]
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):
NBA triple doubles with nine of a fourth statistic
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]
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.[77] The opponent, Central Baptist, plays in the NAIA.
Women's basketball
Mostly 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.[128] NAIA records are also incomplete.
^The NCAA does not consider Spencer's quadruple-double to be official. Although the Metro Conference, then home to both teams involved in this game, kept records in all of the relevant statistical categories in the 1984–85 season, the NCAA did not. Assists were not recorded throughout Division I women's basketball until 1985–86, and steals were not so recorded until 1987–88.[129]
^Although Gonzales played for a school that is now a member of NCAA Division II, the NCAA does not consider her quadruple-double to be official for two reasons. First, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, then as now home to both teams involved in this game, then competed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and was not an NCAA conference until 1992–93.[130] In addition, the NCAA did not record steals throughout Division II women's basketball until 1992–93.[131]
^ abcdefDuring the 2003-2004 1. deild kvenna season, Helena averaged a quadruple-double with 37.6 points, 13.3 rebounds, 11.6 assists and 10.2 steals. Out of the 16 games she played, she posted a quadruple-double in six of them.[140]
Quintuple-double
A quintuple-double is a single-game performance by a player who accumulates a double-digits in all five statistical categories—points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots—in a single game.[168] There are only three known officially recorded quintuple-doubles, all done at the girls' high-school level. The first was recorded by Tamika Catchings of Duncanville High School (Duncanville, Texas) with 25 points, 18 rebounds, 11 assists, 10 steals, and 10 blocks in 1997.[169] The second was by Alex Montgomery of Lincoln High School (Tacoma, Washington), who had 27 points, 22 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 steals, and 10 blocks in January 2007.[170] The third was by Aimee Oertner of Northern Lehigh High School (Slatington, Pennsylvania), who had 26 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 steals, and 11 blocks on January 7, 2012.[171]
Wilt Chamberlain allegedly recorded a quintuple-double on March 18, 1968 with 53 points, 32 rebounds, 14 assists, 24 blocks, and 11 steals. However, before 1974, prior to Chamberlain's retirement, steals and blocks were not officially recorded by the NBA. Statistician Harvey Pollack, who spectated the game, reported that Chamberlain might have had more than one quintuple-double.[172]
As of January 2023, there is no overlap between the 14 players who have recorded 10+ steals in an NBA game and the 36 players who have recorded 10+ blocks in a game; in other words, no NBA player's career-high stat line is a quintuple-double.[173][174] The best single-game career high in blocks for a player with a game of 10+ steals is 6 (Kendall Gill,[175] Draymond Green,[176] and Michael Jordan[177]), and the best single-game career high in steals for a player with a game of 10+ blocks is 8 (Andrei Kirilenko[178] and Hakeem Olajuwon[179]).
Five-by-five
A five-by-five is a performance in which a player accumulates a total of five in five statistical categories—points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks—in a single game.[180] Statistics for steals and blocks were not kept in the NBA until the 1973–74 season, so all NBA five-by-fives are known only from that season onward. Hakeem Olajuwon (six times) and Andrei Kirilenko (three times) are the only players to have recorded multiple five-by-fives (based on records since the 1984–85 season).[180] Both are also the only players to record six-by-fives (at least six in all five statistical categories).[180] Only twice has a five-by-five coincided with a triple-double (both by Olajuwon, one of which was 1 assist shy of a quadruple-double) and only three times has a player recorded a five-by-five without registering at least a double-double (two by Kirilenko and one by Marcus Camby).
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).[181] 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.[182]
Most five-by-fives in a career: Hakeem Olajuwon leads all players with 6 career five-by-fives.[180] Andrei Kirilenko, with 3, is the only other player with more than one career five-by-five.
Most five-by-fives in the same season: Only twice has a player recorded two five-by-fives in a season. Olajuwon in the 1993–94 season, and Kirilenko in the 2003–04 season.
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.
Youngest player: Kirilenko's first NBA five-by-five came on December 3, 2003, making him the youngest to record a five-by-five at age 22 years, 288 days.
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.
^McAllister, Mike (February 28, 2003). "Around the NBA". Knight Ridder Tribune News Service. p. 1. Kevin Garnett has a league-leading 47 double-doubles this season – all of them from the points-rebounds combination. With double-digits rebounds easier to acquire than double-digit assists, the majority of NBA double-doubles are through the points-rebounds combination
^"Statistics". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on April 27, 2010. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
^DuPree, David (April 10, 1997). "Hill the leader in triple-double versatility". USA Today. p. 10.C. The most common triple-double is points, rebounds and assists. Of the 41 triple-doubles recorded this season (through Tuesday's games), all but three have been acquired that way.
^Adande, J.A. (April 20, 2002). "They're Vintage Triple-Doubles". Los Angeles Times. p. D.4. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2009. The term "triple-double" was coined by Bruce Jolesch, the former Laker public relations director who needed a way to summarize Johnson's penchant for recording double figures in points, rebounds and assists.
^Weir, Tom (December 1, 1999). "20th Century This Day in Sports". USA Today. p. 3.C.
^Springer, Steve (November 11, 2002). "Magical Statistic Reborn; Triple-double that Johnson made famous serves Bryant well". Los Angeles Times. p. D.1.
^Gelston, Dan (April 18, 2008). "Philly's Pollack has kept track of NBA from the start". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2010. Magic Johnson's amazing games made Pollack realize he needed a catchy title for double digits in points, rebounds and assists. The triple-double was born. ... "I walked up to Magic and said, 'You know, without me you wouldn't even be here today,"' Pollack said. "He says, 'What do you mean?' I said, 'Who do you think coined the name triple-double and made you famous for doing it?' Now it's a regular stat. He thanked me."
^"Brigham Young University Public Infractions Decision"(PDF). NCAA. November 9, 2018. Archived(PDF) from the original on December 1, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2018. The individual records of the ineligible student-athlete shall also be vacated. However, the individual finishes and any awards for all eligible student-athletes shall be retained. (p. 15)
^Balciunas, Lina (April 9, 2002). "The Art of the Triple-Double". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
^"2018–19 Division III Women's Basketball Records"(PDF). NCAA. Archived(PDF) from the original on February 4, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2019. See especially "Individual Records: Miscellaneous", p. 3, which notes Venet's two career quadruple-doubles, and "Individual Career Records: Quadruple-Doubles", p. 16, which lists all players who have recorded a quadruple-double.
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