What is a triple double in basketball?

A double-double means reaching ten or more in two of the five main statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. A triple double extends that to three, and in practice it is nearly always points, rebounds, and assists, since steals and blocks reaching double figures in a single game is rare. It signals all-around production rather than scoring alone, which is why it became the shorthand for a complete performance by a guard or forward who controls a game in several dimensions.

The statistical infrastructure is younger than the sport. Assists and rebounds were not tracked consistently in the NBA's early years, and steals and blocks were not official statistics until the 1973-74 season, which means historical triple-double counts before then are reconstructed from box scores of varying quality. Oscar Robertson famously averaged a triple double across an entire season in 1961-62, a feat unmatched for over five decades until Russell Westbrook did it in 2016-17 and repeated it in subsequent seasons.

A quadruple double requires double figures in four categories and has been officially recorded only four times in NBA history, by Nate Thurmond, Alvin Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon, and David Robinson, all involving blocks or steals. A quintuple double has never occurred at the professional level. Two criticisms of the statistic are worth knowing: it is a threshold measure rather than a continuous one, so nine rebounds and ten rebounds are treated very differently despite being nearly identical performances, and the chase for the final rebound or assist late in a decided game is a recognized and occasionally criticized phenomenon.