In basketball, a double is the accumulation of a double-digit number total in one of five statistical categories—points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots—in a game. Multiple players usually score double-digit points in any given basketball game; the double nomenclature is usually reserved for when a player has double-digit totals in more than one category:
A double-double is the accumulation of a double-digit number total in two of the statistical five categories in a game. The most common double-double combination is points-rebounds, followed by points-assists. Since the 1983–84 season, Tim Duncan leads the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the points-rebounds combination with 840, and John Stockton leads the points-assists combination with 714.
A triple-double is the accumulation of a double-digit number total in three of the five categories in a game. The most common way to achieve a triple-double is through points, rebounds, and assists. Oscar Robertson leads the all-time NBA list with 181 and is the only player ever to average a triple-double for a season. Russell Westbrook leads the list among active players with 67.
A quadruple-double is the accumulation of a double-digit number total in four of the five categories in a game. This has occurred five times in the NBA.
A quintuple-double is the accumulation of a double-digit number total in all five categories in a game. Two quintuple-double have been recorded at the high school level, by Tamika Catchings and Aimee Oertner, but none have occurred in a college or professional game. A similar accomplishment is the five-by-five, which is the accumulation of at least five points, five rebounds, five assists, five steals, and five blocks in a game. In the NBA, only Hakeem Olajuwon and Andrei Kirilenko have accumulated multiple five-by-fives since the 1984–85 season.
A double-double is defined as a performance in which a player accumulates a double-digit number 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. Double-doubles are fairly common in the NBA. During the 2008–09 season, 69 players who were eligible for leadership in the main statistical categories recorded at least 10 double-doubles during the season.
Special double-doubles are rare. One such double-double is called double double-double (also referred to as 20–20 or Double-20). It occurs when a player accumulates 20 or more in two different statistical categories in a game. Another such double-double is called a triple double-double (also referred to as 30–30). The only player in NBA history to record a 40-40 is Wilt Chamberlain, who achieved the feat eight times in his career. Of the five instances, four were recorded in his rookie season, and the fifth was achieved the following year where he recorded 78 points and 43 rebounds in a game. Wilt Chamberlain also holds the record for most career double-doubles (regular season and playoffs) with 1111. Tim Duncan is second with 1005, followed by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with 1004.
The following is a list of regular season double-double leaders since the 1983–84 season:
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. Chamberlain also holds the second and third longest continuous streaks of double-doubles with 220 and 133. 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.
A triple-double is defined as a performance in which a player 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. The origin of the term "triple-double" is unclear. Some sources claim that it was coined by former Los Angeles Lakers public relations director Bruce Jolesch in the 1980s in order to showcase Magic Johnson's versatility, while others claim that it was coined by then Philadelphia 76ers media relations director Harvey Pollack in 1980. The triple-double became an officially recorded statistic during the 1979–80 season.
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; a few have even gone so far as shooting off their opponent's basket trying to score a triple-double. To deter this, NBA rules allow rebounds to be nullified if the shot is determined not to be a legitimate scoring attempt.
From the 1990–91 to the 2010–11 season, the NBA averaged 34.5 triple-doubles per season, roughly 1 in every 36 games.
The following is a list of regular season triple-double leaders:
First triple-double in league history: According to the Harvey J. Pollack NBA Statistical Yearbook, Dolph Schayes (Syracuse Nationals) might have logged the league's first triple-double on February 8, 1951, versus the New York Knicks. He had 18 points, 22 rebounds and 13 assists.
Averaging a triple-double in a single season: Oscar Robertson is the only player in NBA history to achieve this feat. During the 1961–62 season, Robertson averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 11.4 assists per game. Although Robertson only achieved the feat for a full season once, his cumulative stats over his first 5 seasons gave him an average of 30.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 10.6 assists per game. Robertson is also the only player in NBA history ever to record season averages of both 10 assists and 10 rebounds per game at any period of his career.
Most triple-doubles in a single season: Oscar Robertson recorded 41 triple-doubles during the 1961–62 season. Wilt Chamberlain and Russell Westbrook is in second with 31 triple-doubles.
Most triple-doubles in NBA playoffs: Magic Johnson recorded 30 triple-doubles over his career; LeBron James currently is second in this category with 16.
Most triple-doubles in NBA Finals: Magic Johnson leads with 8, while LeBron James currently is second in this category with 7.
Youngest player: LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers), 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 (Los Angeles Lakers), aged 40 years and 127 days—the only 40-year-old player to do so—logged a triple-double on November 28, 2003, versus the San Antonio Spurs. He had 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Fastest triple-double: Jim Tucker of the Syracuse Nationals, holds the record for the fastest triple double. On February 20, 1955, Tucker, in his rookie year, recorded the mark in just 17 minutes. He finished the game with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists in a 104-84 win over the New York Knicks. Russell Westbrook has the second fastest triple-double, doing so for the Oklahoma City Thunder in 17 minutes 35 seconds in a 112–79 win on April 11, 2016 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Double-triple-double (at least 20 of any 3 statistics): Wilt Chamberlain is the only player to have accomplished this; in a February 2, 1968 game vs. Detroit Pistons, Chamberlain tallied 22 points, 25 rebounds, and 21 assists.
Triple-double without points: The only such triple-double occurred on February 10, 2017, when Draymond Green scored only 4 points, but collected 12 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 steals for the Golden State Warriors in a 122–107 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Longest continuous streak of triple-doubles: Wilt Chamberlain 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. The second longest streak is held by Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, and Russell Westbrook, all of whom recorded a triple-double in seven consecutive games. Robertson's streak occurred in the 1961–62 season, while Jordan's streak went from March 25 to April 6 of 1989. Westbrook's streak occurred from November 25 to December 9, 2016 with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Triple-doubles by teammates in a regular season game: Has occurred three times in the NBA. March 14, 1964 when Donnie Butcher and Ray Scott achieved it for the Detroit Pistons vs. the New York Knicks. Butcher had 19 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists and Scott had 23 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists. January 3, 1989 game by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls vs. the Los Angeles Clippers. Jordan had 41 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, while Pippen had 15 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. April 7, 2007 game by Vince Carter and Jason Kidd of the New Jersey Nets vs. the Washington Wizards. Carter had 46 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists while Kidd had 10 points, 16 rebounds, and 18 assists.
Triple-doubles by opponents in a regular season game: This has occurred only nine times since 1983–84, four times involving Jason Kidd (while playing for three different teams):Magic Johnson and Jeff Ruland (Los Angeles at Washington, February 10, 1984)
Jason Kidd and Clyde Drexler (Dallas at Houston, April 11, 1995)
Jason Kidd and Clyde Drexler (Phoenix at Houston, March 22, 1997)
Gary Payton and Chris Webber (Seattle at Sacramento, April 18, 2000)
Jason Kidd and Jay Williams (New Jersey at Chicago, November 9, 2002)
Jason Kidd and Tracy McGrady (New Jersey vs. Orlando, February 23, 2003)
Caron Butler and Baron Davis (Washington vs. Golden State, November 23, 2007)
Victor Oladipo and Michael Carter-Williams (Orlando at Philadelphia, December 3, 2013 (2 OT))Oladipo and Carter-Williams were both rookies when accomplishing the feat, marking the first and only time in NBA history that two rookies have recorded triple-doubles in the same game. These were the first career triple-doubles for both players. The last time that two players had recorded their first career triple-doubles in the same game was when Detroit Pistons Donnie Butcher and Ray Scott did it on March 14, 1964 (they were not rookies).
Russell Westbrook and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Oklahoma City at Milwaukee, March 6, 2016)
Most triple-doubles in a career: Kyle Collinsworth (BYU) with 12 — six in 2014–15 and six again as a senior in 2015–16. Prior to the triple-double being tracked as an NCAA statistic, Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati) had 10—five in 1958–59 and five in 1959–60.
Consecutive triple-doubles in a single season: 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.Hardaway had back-to-back triple-doubles for Memphis State (now Memphis) during the 1992–93 season. He recorded 21 points, 15 assists, and 14 rebounds against Georgia State on January 4, 1993 and then recorded 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists against Vanderbilt on January 6, 1993.
Most triple-doubles in a single season: Kyle Collinsworth (BYU), with six – performed twice: in the 2014–15 season, and again in 2015–16.
Triple-doubles in NCAA tournament history: The NCAA began keeping track of assists in 1984, then blocks and steals in 1986, so officially this has occurred eight times. However, many tournaments had included assists, steals and blocks in their official boxscores prior to that time, so unofficially this has occurred sixteen times. Only three pre-1986 triple-doubles are included below.
Others
Kalara McFadyen of the Memphis Lady Tigers achieved perhaps the most unusual triple-double in history, and she did it without scoring a point or even attempting a shot. On February 3, 2002, in a women's Division I game against Charlotte, she had 12 assists, 10 steals, and 10 rebounds.
A quadruple-double is defined as a performance in which a player accumulates a double digit number total in four of five statistical categories—points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots—in a game. This feat is extremely rare: 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. The first male player in NCAA Division I history to record a quadruple-double was Lester Hudson in 2007.
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 (all time triple-doubles leader with 181), Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell or Jerry West could conceivably have had quadruple-doubles. According to West's biography at NBA.com, he reportedly recorded a quadruple-double with 44 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 blocks. Wilt Chamberlain also reportedly recorded a 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.
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.
Several others missed that mark by finishing 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."
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.
Accurate as of December 2016
Notes
c This is the only quadruple-double in French National League history.
d This is the only quadruple-double in National Basketball League history.
e This is the only quadruple-double in NCAA Division I men's basketball history. The opponent, Central Baptist, plays in the NAIA.
Accurate as of September 2011
Accurate as of March 2013
During the 2003–04 season, Helena Sverrisdóttir averaged a quadruple-double for Haukar in the Icelandic Women's Division II. In 16 games she averaged 37.6 points, 13.3 rebounds, 11.6 assists and 10.2 steals.
A quintuple-double is defined as a performance in which a player accumulates a double-digit number total in all five statistical categories—points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots—-in a single game. There are only two known quintuple-doubles, all only done at the 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. The second 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.
A five-by-five is defined as 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. Statistics for steals and blocks were not kept in the NBA until the 1973–74 season, so NBA five-by-fives were only possible 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). Both are also the only players to record five-by-sixes (at least six in all five statistical categories). Only twice has a five-by-five coincided with a triple-double (both by Olajuwon) 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).
The following is a list of known five-by-fives. Note the list contains all five-by-fives since the 1984–85 season, as well as one before. There may be other five-by-fives in the NBA that occurred before the 1984–85 season.
All facts based on data since 1985–86:
Greatest five-by-fives (most of each stat): Hakeem Olajuwon, on March 10, 1987, became the first in NBA history to record a five-by-six (at least 6 each of all five statistics: points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals). It took nearly twenty years for the second official occurrence in NBA history. Andrei Kirilenko, on January 3, 2006, recorded a five-by-six against the Lakers. Though his numbers were not quite as impressive as Olajuwon's, Kirilenko performed the feat in regulation. No one in the NBA has ever recorded a five-by-seven or higher. But Olajuwon was just 1 assist away in the game just mentioned, whereas Kirilenko was only 1 steal shy in his five-by-six.
Most five-by-fives in a career: Hakeem Olajuwon leads all players with 6 career five-by-fives. 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: The record for most five-by-fives in a season is 2. Olajuwon was the first to do this, in the 1993–94 season. Kirilenko was the second to do so in the 2003–04 season.
Most five-by-fives in the same year: Olajuwon recorded 3 five-by-fives in a one-year span. Beside the two from the 1993–94 season, he had another late in the 1992–93 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 7008719150400000000♠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 7008976363200000000♠30 years, 343 days old.
No player has recorded a five-by-five in the NBA Playoffs.
