The triple-double used to be a rare entity in the NBA. Scoring at least 10 points, rebounds, and assists was something that was not done a lot in the older era. It was only averaged for a season once from 1962 to 2016. Now, the league has evolved and we are watching centers develop their passing and shooting for averaging a triple-double.
The GOATs of triple-doubling, if that is a word, Russell Westbrook and James Harden put the metric on the map from 2016 to 2020. Westbrook won an MVP Award when he averaged a triple-double during the 2016-17 season, which was the first since Oscar Robertson. Harden made it look easy while playing for the Houston Rockets. Today, Nikola Jokic could join the ranks of averaging triple-doubles, which was unheard of during the 1990s.
In an offensive-oriented league, we often look at the point totals. One would think that scoring a ton of points would be difficult given that the player is also rebounding and playmaking. Fifteen times has a player scored at least 50 points in a triple-double. Not even Jokic has accomplished that feat yet, but if we look back to the 1960s, there were special performances of this happening. Let’s look back at these 15 performances where players were scoring all the points, but doing a little bit of everything at the same time.
These are the most points in a triple-double in NBA history.
10T. Richie Guerin – 50 Points
Date: February 25, 1962
Stats: 50 Points, 11 Rebounds, 13 Assists
A high-scoring affair was headlined by a triple-double from Richie Guerin. The Knicks defeated the Warriors 149-135. Guerin led the attack with 50 points while Willie Naulls added 33 points. Guerin shot 17 of 28 from the field and 16 of 19 at the free throw line. This overcame 67 points from Wilt Chamberlain, who added 21 rebounds.
10T. Elgin Baylor – 50 Points
Date: February 13, 1963
Stats: 50 Points, 15 Rebounds, 11 Assists
The Lakers need every point from Baylor to hold off the Celtics. Dick Barnett scored 38 points to assist but the main line came from Baylor who scored 50 points, 15 rebounds, and 11 assists. Baylor shot 16 of 27 from the field and 18 of 22 from the free-throw line. This overcame six Celtics players scoring in double figures in the 134-128 Lakers win.
10T. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 50 Points
Date: January 19, 1975
Stats: 50 Points, 15 Rebounds, 11 Assists, 1 Steal, 3 Blocks
Sidney Wicks scored 31 points and 14 rebounds but that was not enough for the Trail Blazers to overcome the Bucks. Abdul Jabbar secured 12 defensive rebounds to pad his overall total of 15 boards. Abdul-Jabbar shot 18 of 30 from the field and 14 of 16 from the free-throw line. The Bucks defeated the Trail Blazers 122-108.
10T. Russell Westbrook – 50 Points
Date: April 9, 2017
Stats: 50 Points, 16 Rebounds, 10 Assists, 1 Steal, 0 Blocks
Forget about the stat line for a moment. This should be regarded as an all-time classic. The Thunder used a 25-14 fourth quarter to outlast the Nuggets 106-105. Nikola Jokic, a future triple-double proprietor in the making, scored 26 points while Danilo Gallinari led the team with 34 points. However, Westbrook put the team on his back to shoot 17 of 32 from the field, 5 of 12 from three-point range, and a perfect 11 of 11 from the free throw line. Westbrook recorded 14 defensive rebounds in an epic 50-point game.
10T. James Harden – 50 Points
Date: December 13, 2018
Stats: 50 Points, 10 Rebounds, 11 Assists, 2 Steals, 0 Blocks
LeBron James was his typical self for the Lakers, spotting a line of 29 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Instead of a presumed Lakers win, James Harden erupted for a 50-point triple-double. Harden shot 14 of 26 from the field and 4 of 12 from the three-point line. His best effort was at the free-throw line where he shot 18 of 19 from the free-throw line. This helped the Rockets pull away with a 126-111 win, which included a 36-23 mark in the fourth quarter.
10T. James Harden – 50 Points
Date: March 30, 2019
Stats: 50 Points, 11 Rebounds, 10 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Blocks
Two 20-point scorers on the side of the Kings weren’t going to stop the one-man wrecking crew of the one and only James Harden. Harden just made it to triple-double status in a rare moment that didn’t feature a single steal or block. Harden shot 13 of 31 from the field, including a rough outside shooting mark of 7 from 23. At the line, Harden shot 94%, making 17 of 18 free throws. Despite Harden’s rough shooting, the Rockets were able to defeat the Kings 119-108.
7T. Wilt Chamberlain – 51 Points
Date: February 13, 1963
Stats: 51 Points, 29 Rebounds, 11 Assists
Despite an incredible triple-double performance, the San Francisco Warriors could not pull out the win. The Pistons pulled out the 123-132 overtime victory by using 35 points from Don Ohl, 28 points from Bailey Howell, and 22 points from Bob Ferry. This helped overcome a 51-point triple-double from Chamberlain. He was one rebound away from a rare 50 points, 30-rebound game. That included shooting 20 of 38 from the field and 11 of 19 from the free-throw line.
7T. Russell Westbrook – 51 Points
Date: October 28, 2016
Stats: 51 Points, 13 Rebounds, 10 Assists, 2 Steals, 0 Blocks
The historic MVP season from Westbrook during the 2016-17 campaign featured multiple superstar performances. Westbrook’s game paced the Thunder to a 113-110 victory in overtime against the Suns. It was enough to beat out T.J. Warren’s 30 points. Westbrook took 44 shots in a game that saw the Thunder take 96 shots as a team. Westbrook was 17 of 44 from the field, 2 of 10 from three-point range, and 15 of 20 at the free-throw line.
7T. James Harden – 51 Points
Date: January 27, 2017
Stats: 51 Points, 13 Rebounds, 13 Assists, 2 Steals, 1 Block
The 76ers tried to rally back with a 36-29 fourth quarter but the Rockets held onto a 123-118 win. Harden led the way with 51 points that were headlined by 16 of 28 shooting from the field, 6 of 11 shooting from three-point range, and a 13 of 14 night at the free throw line. Harded added 12 defensive rebounds and 13 assists. Harden’s performance outmatched the 32 points from Joel Embiid from the 76ers.
6. Elgin Baylor – 52 Points
Date: December 13, 1961
Stats: 52 Points, 25 Rebounds, 10 Assists
This can be considered another all-time classic. The Lakers needed overtime to defeat St. Louis Hawks 137-136. Bob Pettit scored 49 points and Clyde Lovellette scored 34 points himself, but the man of the game was captured by Baylor. With 52 points and 25 rebounds, Baylor was the supreme player. The team took 117 shots but Baylor took 41 of those attempts. Baylor was 18 of 41 from the field and 16 of 17 from the free-throw line.
4T. Wilt Chamberlain – 53 Points
Date: March 18, 1968
Stats: 53 Points, 32 Rebounds, 14 Assists
On any other day, the Lakers might have won this game. Seven players finished in double figures but that was a product of a high-scoring game. The 76ers defeated the Lakers in a 158-128 blowout where Chamberlain scored one-third of the points. Chamberlain reached the 50/30 game with 14 assists to capture the triple-double. Chamberlain shot 24 of 29 from the field, which was good for 82.8% shooting. He also added 5 of 10 shooting at the free throw line in 58 minutes of action.
4T. James Harden – 53 Points
Date: December 31, 2016
Stats: 53 Points, 16 Rebounds, 17 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Blocks
The Rockets were rolling at the time as the team headed into New Year’s Eve. The high level of play continued with a 128-122 victory. Brandon Jennings stole the show with 32 points to overcome a seven-point effort from Carmelo Anthony. The superstar drop-off didn’t hit Harder though. Harden shot 14 of 26 from the field, an epic 9 of 16 from three-point range, and 16 of 18 from the free-throw line. Harden nearly had a quadruple-double with eight turnovers, but that was overshadowed by the win.
3. Russell Westbrook – 57 Points
Date: March 29, 2017
Stats: 57 Points, 13 Rebounds, 11 Assists, 3 Steals, 0 Blocks
Westbrook was looking like the MVP in each game that passed during this season. That continued with another strong performance in a 114-106 win over the Magic. Westbrook shot 21 of 40 from the field, 6 of 15 from three-point range, and 9 of 11 at the free-throw line. Nikola Vucevic recorded an 11-point, 16-rebound double-double, while Evan Fournier and Terrence Ross added 24 points and 23 points respectively, but that was not going to affect Westbrook from setting a record for points in a triple-double at the time.
1T. James Harden – 60 Points
Date: January 30, 2018
Stats: 60 Points, 10 Rebounds, 11 Assists, 4 Steals, 1 Block
Nearly one year later, against the same team, a new record for points in a triple-double was set. The only difference was that this was Harden and not Westbrook. The Rockets held on to defeat the Magic 114-107 with Harden scoring more than 50% of the team’s points. Harden shot 19 of 30 from the field, 5 of 14 from three-point line, and 17 of 18 at the free-throw line. The next highest scorer on the team was Clint Capela’s 12 points.
1T. Luka Doncic – 60 Points
Date: December 27, 2022
Stats: 60 Points, 21 Rebounds, 10 Assists, 2 Steals, 1 Block
An overtime classic ended with a Mavericks win and Luka Doncic propelling his name to the top of the triple-double points chart. Doncic overcame 33 points from Quentin Grimes and 29 points from Julius Randle by scoring 60 points of his own. Doncic was 21 of 31 from the field, 2 of 6 from three-point range, and 16 of 22 from the free-throw line. Doncic added the first-ever 60/20 triple-double. The best stat of the night might have been his four turnovers. In the end, the Mavericks could celebrate a 126-121 victory.
Source: fadeawayworld
