NBA triple-double

LIKE a 50-point game, a triple-double performance by an athlete during a basketball contest is something special that easily attracts a lot of attention from hoops fans.

And it becomes even more mind-boggling if a player is able to AVERAGE a triple-double for an entire season such as what Oscar Robertson (The Big O) and Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook have accomplished in the 73-year history of the National Basketball Association. Both point guards, Robertson was the first NBA player to turn in the trick with the Cincinnati Royals (the predecessors of the Sacramento Kings) in 1961-62 (averages of 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists in 79 games and 41 T-D games) and Westbrook duplicated the feat with the Thunder in 2016-17 (averages of 31.6 ppg, 10.7 rpg and 10.4 apg in 81 games with an all-time NBA single-season record of 42 T-D games) and 2017-18 (averages of 25.4 ppg, 10.3 apg and 10.1 rpg in 80 games with 25 T-D games).

So far (through games of November 25), there have been 15 triple-double performances by 12 players in the young 2018-19 NBA season. These were registered by Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (2), Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook (2), Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons (2), the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James (1), New Orleans’ Elfrid Payton (1) and Julius Randle (1), Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox (1), Golden State’s Kevin Durant (1), Toronto’s Kyle Lowry (1), Denver’s Nikola Jokic (1), Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic (1), and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid (1).

Westbrook (106) needs one more triple-double (the Thunder host Cleveland on Thursday, November 29, Manila time) to tie Jason Kidd (107) for third place on the all-time NBA regular-season list for most T-D games in a career. Robertson is first with 181 games, followed by Earvin (Magic) Johnson with 138.

For the uninitiated, a triple-double is accomplished when a player collects at least a 10 in three different statistical categories. It can be in points, rebounds, assists, steals or blocked shots.

A negative stat such as turnovers (or errors) is not included.

Note that the NBA has been recording stats for points and assists since its inception in 1946-47 when it was known as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). Rebounding figures were first recorded during the 1950-51 campaign and steals and blocked shots were not official stats until the 1973-74 wars.

That being said, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Nate Thurmond – all-time center greats who are all members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame – could have actually registered more triple-double performances during their illustrious careers if only blocked shots were compiled by NBA statisticians during their heyday. (Chamberlain and Thurmond have crossed the Great Beyond.)

By the time blocked shots became an official stat in 1973-74, Russell, a defensive genius with immense shot-blocking skills, had long retired. The 6-foot-10 Russell, who earned an NBA-record 11 titles as a player, called it quits after the 1968-69 season.

Chamberlain, another premier shot-blocker during his prime, also would have secured more T-Ds than what he officially has been credited for (78, fifth all-time best overall, including 31 with the 1967-68 Philadelphia 76ers for the third-highest for a single season behind Westbrook’s 42 and Robertson’s 41).
The 7-foot-1 Chamberlain hung up his jersey after the 1972-73 season, or one year before blocked shots became an official NBA stat. This means the T-Ds that were officially credited to him were derived from points, rebounds and assists – an extraordinary feat for a Big Fella like “The Stilt” and “The Big Dipper.”