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. 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, while others claim that it was coined by then
Philadelphia 76ers media relations director
Harvey Pollack in 1980. The earliest known appearances of the phrase in print come from October 1980 issues of the
Los Angeles Times, although, as early as 1974,
Bob Ryan wrote in
The Boston Globe that "
John Havlicek just missed a triple double-figure night."
Triple-doubles in the NBA The triple-double became an officially recorded statistic in the
NBA during the . That season, there were 32 triple-doubles, 12 more than the previous season. From the to the s, 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 timespan's triple-doubles, or about 25.23% of them. After Johnson retired in 1991, the number of triple-doubles in the league declined. From the to the s, 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. However, in the , the number of triple-doubles recorded in the NBA grew from 46 to 75. From the to the , 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. During the 2017 NBA season on February 10, 2017,
Warriors forward
Draymond Green became the first player in NBA history to achieve a triple double without scoring 10 points. Green had 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 steals and 4 points while contributing to his team's victory over the
Memphis Grizzlies 122–107. 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. The move was criticized by players, coaches, and the media. To deter this, NBA rules allow rebounds to be nullified if the shot is determined not to be a legitimate scoring attempt.
Russell Westbrook holds the NBA record for career triple-doubles with 209. He,
Oscar Robertson and
Nikola Jokić are the only three players to average a triple-double over a season, with Robertson and Jokić achieving the feat once and Westbrook achieving the feat four times.
Magic Johnson holds the playoff record for career triple-doubles with 30.
WNBA of the
Phoenix Mercury holds the WNBA record for career triple-doubles with twenty five. Triple-doubles have been rarer in the
WNBA than in the NBA; the games are shorter in the WNBA (40 minutes vs 48), there are fewer games (fewer teams) in a season (44 vs 82), and the playing style in the WNBA is more of a team game than relying on star players. As of the
2025 season, 56 triple-doubles have been recorded in the WNBA.
Alyssa Thomas has the all-time record with twenty five, and no other player has more than four.
Alyssa Thomas scored the third overall playoff triple-double and first
WNBA Finals triple-double on September 15, 2022 against the
Las Vegas Aces, and the fourth the following game on September 18. Thomas recorded four of her career triple-doubles in the
2022 season, and her fifth through eleventh in the
2023 season. In the
2025 season, Thomas became the first player to record a triple-double in three straight games. She recorded a triple-double in games on August 3, August 5, and August 7 of that season. 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. On July 6, 2024,
Caitlin Clark became the first rookie to record a triple double in the WNBA, as well as the first player to record a triple double against the team with the best record in the WNBA. 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.
NCAA Division I •
Most triple-doubles in a career: • Men's:
Kyle Collinsworth (
BYU, 2010–11, 2013–16) with 12 — six in
2014–15 and six again as a senior in
2015–16. Before the triple-double being tracked as an
NCAA statistic,
Oscar Robertson (
Cincinnati) had 10—five in 1958–59 and five in 1959–60. • 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. • Women's:
Sabrina Ionescu (
Oregon, 2016–2020) with 26 – four in
2016–17, six in
2017–18, eight in
2018–19, and eight in
2019–20. •
Consecutive triple-doubles: In Division I men's play, 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. :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. 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. :* 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. •
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. Only three pre-1986 triple-doubles are included below. :: '''
Women's''' ::: 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.
FIBA European Champions Cup and EuroLeague is the most recent EuroLeague player to record a triple-double, doing so in 2024, and the first to record one since 2019. 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 34 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. As of
2024, only eight triple-doubles have been recorded in EuroLeague history, and only four in the modern era of Euroleague basketball (since
2000). The following is a list of all eight of these triple-doubles: ==Quadruple-double==