Double-double

In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term refers to the two categories and the second "double" refers to accumulating ten or more in that category. Similarly, a player records a triple-double, quadruple-double, and quintuple-double when accumulating ten or more in three, four, or all five of the statistical categories, respectively. While double-doubles and triple-doubles occur regularly each NBA season, only four quadruple-doubles have ever officially been recorded in the NBA, and no quintuple-double has ever been recorded in a professional basketball game. A similar term, the five-by-five, is the accumulation of at least five in all five statistical categories. It is rarely done.

Double-double

A double-double is a performance in which a player accumulates a double-digit 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. During the 2008–09 NBA season, 69 players who were eligible for leadership in the main statistical categories recorded at least ten double-doubles during the season.
Since the season, Tim Duncan leads the National Basketball Association in the points–rebounds combination with 841 double-doubles, John Stockton leads the points–assists combination with 714, and Russell Westbrook leads the rebounds–assists combinations with 142. Since the season, Tim Duncan also holds the record for most total career double-doubles in the NBA, having recorded 841. In league history, the record for most career double-doubles is 968, held by Wilt Chamberlain.
Special double-doubles are rare. One such achievement is sometimes called a 20–20, double double-double, or double-20, when a player accumulates 20 or more in two statistics in a game. Another similar feat is a 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, four of which were in his rookie 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 is actively 61 games, achieved by Domantas Sabonis of the Sacramento Kings.
Youngest player: Tracy McGrady, aged 18 years and 175 days, logged a double-double on November 15, 1997, versus the Indiana Pacers. He had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Oldest player: Dikembe Mutombo, aged 42 years and 289 days, logged a double-double on April 10, 2009, versus the Golden State Warriors. He had 10 points and 15 rebounds.
Triple-double

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 205. 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

Triple-doubles have been rarer in the WNBA than in the NBA; the games are shorter in the WNBA, there are fewer games in a season, 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.
On June 12, 2022 in a New York Liberty game, Ionescu became the fourth and youngest WNBA player to achieve multiple triple doubles in a career, while also being the first to both achieve a triple double in three quarters and register at least 12 of each statistic for the triple double.
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 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 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 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, Penny Hardaway, Tony Lee, Gerald Lewis, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kevin Roberson each recorded two consecutive games with a triple-double.
Most triple-doubles in a single season:
* Men's: Kyle Collinsworth, with six – performed twice: in the 2014–15 season, and again in 2015–16.
* Women's: Sabrina Ionescu, with eight in the 2018–19 season.
Triple-doubles in NCAA tournament history:

Name	Team	Score	Opponent	Round	Date	Minutes played	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Blocks	Reference
	Cincinnati	98–85	Louisville	Third place	21 March 1959	39	39	17	10	—	—
	Michigan State	95–64	Lamar	Second round	10 March 1979	35	13	17	10
	Michigan State	101–67	Penn	Final Four	24 March 1979	35	29	10	10	3	0
	Michigan	97–109	North Carolina	Second round	14 March 1987	39	24	10	10	1	0
	LSU	94–83	BYU	First round	19 March 1992	31	26	13	4	1	11
	St. John's	85–67	Texas Tech	First round	18 March 1993	37	12	11	11	1	0
	Utah	76–51	Arizona	Elite Eight	21 March 1998	36	18	14	13	2	1
	Marquette	83–69	Kentucky	Elite Eight	29 March 2003	35	29	11	11	1	4
	Kansas	60–43	Dayton	Second round	22 March 2009	31	13	20	1	0	10
	Michigan State	76–78	UCLA	First round	17 March 2011	37	23	11	10	4	0
	Michigan State	89–67	Long Island	Second round	16 March 2012	35	24	12	10	1	0
	Murray State	83–64	Marquette	First round	21 March 2019	39	17	11	16	0	0
	Illinois	85–69	Morehead State	First round	21 March 2024	36	12	11	10	0	0

Name	Team	Score	Opponent	Round	Date	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Blocks	Reference
	Arizona State	97–77	Georgia	First round	12 March 1982	17	11	10	—	—
	Old Dominion	74–60	Penn State	Elite Eight	26 March 1983	20	13	—	—	12
	Missouri	82–92	LSU	First round	18 March 1984	14	11	10	—	—
	Duke	70–55	Manhattan	First round	11 March 1987	16	11	10	—	—
	UNLV	84–74	Colorado	Second round	18 March 1989	22	17	—	—	11
	Stanford	91–67	Cal State Fullerton	Second round	16 March 1991	19	10	10	—	—
	Alabama	121–120	Duke	Second round	18 March 1995	28	12	14	—	—
	Georgia	81–68	Louisville	Second round	19 March 1995	14	13	—	—	10
	Old Dominion	92–39	Saint Francis	First round	13 March 1998	22	—	15	14	—
	Stanford	76–51	Weber State	First round	16 March 2002	20	11	10	—	—
	Stanford	77–55	Tulane	Second round	18 March 2002	16	10	10	—	—
	Michigan State	76–64	Vanderbilt	Sweet Sixteen	27 March 2005	16	10	10	—	—
	Notre Dame	80–49	Maryland	Elite Eight	27 March 2012	13	10	10	—	—
	Connecticut	91–52	Saint Joseph's	Second round	25 March 2014	20	10	10	—	—
	Iowa	66–81	Baylor	Sweet Sixteen	27 March 2015	13	10	14	—	—
	Oregon	88–45	Seattle	First round	16 March 2018	19	10	11	—	—
	Oregon	91–68	Indiana	Second round	24 March 2019	29	10	12	3	0
	Iowa	97–83	Louisville	Fourth round	26 March 2023	41	10	12	3	0

Others
* Kalara McFadyen of Memphis achieved perhaps the most unusual triple-double in history, and she did it without scoring a point or even attempting a shot from either the field or the free-throw line. On February 3, 2002, in a women's Division I game against Charlotte, she had 12 assists, 10 steals, and 10 rebounds.