So how have you guys been enjoying the NBA this season huh? Regular season do anything for ya? What about the play in the tournament? Oh, yeah you thought that was a pretty sweet way to do it too? How have you been enjoying the playoffs so far? Yeah, same, it's just great nerding out over the stats and that's exactly what we're going to be looking at today, STATS!
Specifically, the triple double. You know the one, double digits in 3 different stats. We'll be taking a look at a few different variants, the top 10 players who have the most triple doubles as well as some other interesting stats, not only that but we may even take a look at some of the NBA scores and odds from recent games so we can look forward and see who's likely gonna be putting in those big game performances again!
NBA All time triple double leader, Russell Westbrook now of the Washington Wizards, Source: NBA.com
First things first, let us take a look at the highest performers in terms of the triple double, the kings of the court if you will. Realistically speaking, only the best players are going to be scoring consistent double digit figures in multiple categories, so without further ado let’s list ‘em!
- Russell Westbrook – 182 – Oklahoma Thunder, Houston Rockets, Washington Wizards
- Oscar Robertson – 181 – Cincinnati Royals, Milwaukee Bucks
- Magic Johnson – 138 – Los Angeles Lakers
- Jason Kidd – 107 – Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks
- Lebron James – 99 – Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers
- Wilt Chamberlain – 78 – Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers (Also Harlem Globetrotters)
- Larry Bird – 59 – Boston Celtics
- James Harden – 58 – Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets
- Nikola Jokić – 56 – Denver Nuggets
- Fat Lever – 43 – Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks
Before I even break down Russell Westbrook’s career, he and Oscar Robertson really are out at the top on their own aren't they? It's actually kind of crazy just how far ahead they actually are, isn’t it? So let’s break down Russell Westbrook’s statistics shall we?
Russell Westbrook started his career in the NBA in 2008 where he was selected 4th overall in the 2008 draft by the Seattle SuperSonics which then ended up relocating to Oklahoma before they became the Thunder, he scored the first of his 182 triple doubles on the 2nd March 2009 during his rookie season, a 17 point, 10 rebound and 10 assist outing against the Dallas Mavericks.
Source: The Guardian
While he is the stand out name when you look at the stats, through the first six years of his career he only managed to rack up EIGHT triple doubles but has added an insane 174 more triple doubles in the last 7 years. His single game triple double accomplishments include TWO games with 24 assists (January 10th 2019 and May 3rd 2021) which has him tied with Rajon Rondo and Isiah Thomas for the most assists in a triple double.
On May 3rd of this current season, Westbrook managed to add 14 points and 21 rebounds to his career high tying and franchise record tying 24 assists to record his second career game with AT LEAST 20 rebounds and 20 assists, the only player in league history with multiple games like it.
Russell Westbrook, having hit 182 triple doubles in his career that has currently saw him play 940 games at the top level, has managed to score a triple double in 19.4% of the game has has currently played, which not only is it the highest total, but the highest rate among the top 15 triple double leaders. Though if you look at where he REALLY took off in his career. He has managed to hit 145 triple doubles in 353 games since the 16-17 season which works out at a 41.1% rate!
Not only that but he is also leading the league this season with 36 triple doubles, THIRTY SIX. Which is the second most triple doubles in a single season in his career and the THIRD most in league history, the numbers are pretty insane when you actually stop to think about it. Of course you can look at it this way, the way the game is played has changed SO much over the last few decades, not only that but it is MUCH faster paced now, so does this style just suit Russells playstyle? Would he still get these numbers if he played in the 70s? Who can really say?
That's going to do it for this one, if you're like me you're just in awe at how much of an insane all round player Russell Westbrook actually is, not only that but he's still absolutely slaying the game at 32 years old, usually by this point players will start to lose a yard of pace or their fitness will slowly start to slide, but this man shows no signs of stopping! How much longer can he continue to stack the stats? Where will the record be when he finally hangs up his shoes? Only time will tell!
