The term “double” in basketball refers to double digits on a score in one of the five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots.
A triple-double is a term used in basketball to describe a player acquiring double digits in three (a simple double-double requires just two) of five categories. Most of the time it means recording at least 10 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds during a game but it can also include blocks and/or steals.
Most Career Triple Doubles in the NBA History
In many years of NBA games, few players could achieve very big numbers in triple-doubles.
Russell Westbrook
An incredibly athletic player, the most triple-doubles in NBA history belongs to Russel Westbrook with a crazy number of 198 and counting He’s the only player to average a triple-double for fours seasons, including two consecutive ones.
Russell Westbrook is now part of the Los Angeles Clippers, where he moved after two seasons at LA Lakers, but when he broke the record he played for the Washington Wizards. In his career, he also played for the Oklahoma City Thunder for over 10 seasons and spent one at the Houston Rockets.
Oscar Robertson
Oscar Robertson, the old-school MVP is not too far behind in the record. Currently he sits 17 triple doubles behind Russell Westbrook, but for many years the record belonged to him and seemed unbreakable. Playing as a point guard from 1960 to 1974 Robertson is one of the greatest of his time and an inspiration for all of the modern players. He was part of the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks. He was also the first player to average a triple-double for a full season.
Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson is often called the best point guard (or even the best player!) in NBA history. Every fan of basketball knows his name. In his career, Magic achieved 138 triple-doubles. He was a proficient scorer and thanks to his height (greater than that of an average point guard) he could play all the positions- he was a great rebounder. Throughout his whole NBA career Johnson spent 19 seasons playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, which he also coached in 1994.
Nikola Jokić
Nikola, a Serbian player, joined the NBA in 2015 as a part of the Denver Nuggets and is with them still. He is a three-time All-Star and MVP of the 2020-21 season. As of the beginning of 2023/2024 season, Nikola has 121 triple-doubles. With only 8 seasons in the NBA and over 120 triple-doubles, Nikola is very likely to climb in the ranking for most triple doubles and chase Russell Westbrook for the record.
Jason Kidd
Jason Kidd, now the coach of the Dallas Mavericks, as a player was a big triple-double threat and made 107 triple-doubles. Kidd was 10-time All-Star and 2011 NBA Champion and throughout his career, he averaged 12.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 8.7 assists per game. During his 19-year career, he played for 5 teams, and usually averaged over 10 points in the game, but only three times he had double-double average throughout a whole season. To have a total of 107 triple-doubles it’s an astounding result, and Jason Kidd is certainly one of the underdogs among the record holders.
LeBron James
As of the beginning of the 2023/2024 season, star of the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James stands with 107 triple-doubles and has equaled with Jason Kidd. LeBron is already said to be one of the greatest players and he is often compared to Michael Jordan, however he has only a bit more than half of the triple-doubles of the record holder. Despite still being an active player, it is rather unlikely that LeBron will be able to match Magic Johnson, but he can improve on the 5th spot in the ranking.
Wilt Chamberlain
Wilt Chamberlain is still recalled as a legend. The 4 time MVP set many records joining the league in 1959. He was a seven-time scoring champion and an eleven-time rebounding champion. He finished with 78 triple-doubles which was an outstanding number at that time. His height and skills made him absolutely dominate the early NBA years. Wilt’s record is astounding for the time when he was playing – at that time, NBA consisted of only 8 teams and there were 75 games in a season. Currently we have 30 teams and teams play around 80 games in a season.
Larry Bird
Larry Bird, an old-school player who during his career played with Boston Celtics, had 59 triple-doubles, now an executive of the Indiana Pacers. He is renowned not only for his player achievements (Rookie of the Year, MVP, NBA Finals MVP, All-Star MVP) but also won Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year awards. Larry has achieved almost everything in his career, and his presence on the list cannot be surprising to anyone.
James Harden
A prolific shooter, still an active player for Philadelphia 76-ers, Harden, starts the 2023/2024 season with 78 triple-doubles. 2018 MVP and Olympic Gold Medalist, also played for Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets. The combination of 1.96m (6ft5in) and light weight of 100kg (220lb) helps him with getting all the rebounds joining the best triple doublers in the league.
Fat Lever
Lafayette Lever was drafted in 1982 by Portland Trail Blazers and later he played for Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks. He was received All-Star honors two times and is considered one of the best point guards from the ‘80s. Lever closes our top ten with 43 triple-doubles.
Luka Doncic
As of October 2023, Luka Doncic has solidified his spot as the 10th best player in terms of triple-doubles in NBA history. At just 24 years old, the Slovenian star, who plays for the Dallas Mavericks, has already made an indelible mark on the league. Known for his exceptional ball-handling, passing, and scoring, Doncic has amassed an impressive number of triple-doubles in his short yet impactful career. To me, what sets him apart is not just his ability to rack up points, but also his versatility in contributing to rebounds and assists. As of now, he has registered 56 triple-doubles, proving that he’s more than just a one-dimensional player. With years ahead of him, the ceiling appears to be limitless and Luka may put some pressure on current record holders and chasers.
Most Career Quadruple-Doubles in the NBA History
An elusive quadruple-double is something most NBA players can only think of. In NBA history it was only done four times and hasn’t been repeated since 1994. All of the players who achieved this astounding feat, did it only once.
Will we see someone achieve Quadruple-Double in the upcoming season? With the talents like Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic in the league, we may experience the first Quadruple-Double in 30 years.
Here is a list in chronological order of the only four players who became legends by scoring double digits in four statistical categories.
Nate Thurmond
On 18th October 1974, the record was set by Nate Thurmond, at the time Golden State Warriors player. At the game between Warriors and Atlanta Hawks, Nate Thurmond achieved the unthinkable, he became the first player to ever obtain a quadruple-double with 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists, and 12 blocks.
Alvin Robertson
San Antonio Spurs superstar, Alvin Robertson, was the second to ever have a quadruple-double. In the February 18th, 1986 game against Phoenix Suns Alvin Robertson made 20 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 steals. Barely reaching the numbers to join the prestigious club, but his result is among the greatest in the history nonetheless.
Hakeem Olajuwon
Hakeem Olajuwon joined the two players in the quadruple-double club in the 1990 season in a game between Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors. He finished the game with 29 points, 18 rebounds, 10 assists, and 11 blocks to his name. NBA actually took that record from him so he did something unthinkable.
Then, only a few weeks later, on March 29th, 1990, Hakeem Olajuwon and Houston Rockets destroyed Milwaukee Bucks with a famous second quadruple-double: 18 points 16 rebounds 10 assists, and 11 blocks.
David Robinson
On February 17th, 1994 David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs scored 34 points with 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 blocks. It was the most points ever made in a quadruple-double. San Antonio Spurs came victorious over the Detroit Pistons and David Robinson became MVP in 1995.
Every name in this article rings in the ears of a true basketball fan. One by one they all share their name with the history of basketball. History that was made just four times in NBA games, where only four players were ever capable of scoring double digits in four statistical categories.
Newschool players are occupying scoreboards with their triple-doubles, but will we ever see another quadruple?
One more question remains unanswered: which one of them do you consider the greatest player?
How many quadruple-doubles have there been in NBA history?
Only four players in NBA history have ever posted a quadruple-double, three of them did it by recording at least 10 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 blocks. One player achieved the feat by racking up double-digit steals instead of blocks.
Has there ever been a 5 double in basketball?
Although double-doubles and triple-doubles are frequent during each NBA season, only four quadruple-doubles have been recorded in the history of the NBA, with a single quintuple-double recorded in any professional basketball game.
