March 14, 2021 was a day like no other in NBA history. It was incredible. Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped in 33 points to go along with 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Former Rockets James Harden and Russell Westbrook lit up the stat sheets with their new-ish teams, going for 24/10/10 and 42/10/12, respectively. All-Stars Julius Randle and Domantas Sabonis each scored over 20 points while grabbing double-digit boards and dishing out double-digit assists.
Giannis, Harden, Westbrook, Randle and Sabonis. Five triple-doubles. Five triple-doubles. In a single night. Never before had we seen such a night, and it would surely be a while before we saw another slate of games break that single-day NBA record for the most triple-doubles in one night.
And then, four days later, that very record was broken.
Six players have recorded a triple-double so far tonight:
— Justin Kubatko (@jkubatko) March 18, 2021
✅ Draymond Green
✅ James Harden
✅ Nikola Jokic
✅ Domantas Sabonis
✅ Ben Simmons
✅ Russell Westbrook
That breaks the NBA record for most triple-doubles in a day set just four days ago.
What in the world is going on with the triple-doubles? Westbrook, Harden and Sabonis reappeared on the list after recording triple-doubles on March 14, which makes sense. They rank first, second and sixth in the NBA in triple-doubles this season, respectively, with 12, 11 and 6.
| Rk | Player | Pos | Season | Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russell Westbrook | G | 2020-21 | 12 |
| 2 | James Harden | G | 2020-21 | 11 |
| 3 | Nikola Jokić | C | 2020-21 | 11 |
| 4 | Luka Dončić | G | 2020-21 | 9 |
| 5 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | F | 2020-21 | 7 |
| 6 | Domantas Sabonis | F | 2020-21 | 6 |
| 7 | LeBron James | F | 2020-21 | 5 |
| 8 | Jimmy Butler | F | 2020-21 | 4 |
| 9 | Ben Simmons | G | 2020-21 | 4 |
| 10 | Draymond Green | F | 2020-21 | 3 |
That's right — Russell Westbrook has 12 triple-doubles already this season, and he's played in 32 games. In fact, it's almost surprising that he doesn't have more, as he seemingly finishes above that threshold every game. He had eight triple-doubles all of last season, which was good for fourth in the league, but he led the NBA with 25 back in the 2017-18 season and 34 in the 2018-19 season.
Let's turn back the clock a little bit, though. We'll go back to the 2014-15 season, for instance, where Westbrook led the NBA in triple-doubles, but he only recorded 11. The year before that? He had two. Meanwhile, the league leader was Lance Stephenson... with five. That's all it took to lead the NBA in triple-doubles over an entire 82-game season.
| Rk | Player | Pos | Season | Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lance Stephenson | G | 2013-14 | 5 |
| 2 | Stephen Curry | G | 2013-14 | 4 |
| 3 | Joakim Noah | C | 2013-14 | 4 |
| 4 | Kevin Durant | F | 2013-14 | 3 |
| 5 | Kevin Love | F | 2013-14 | 3 |
| 6 | Nicolas Batum | F | 2013-14 | 2 |
| 7 | Michael Carter-Williams | G | 2013-14 | 2 |
| 8 | Kyle Lowry | G | 2013-14 | 2 |
| 9 | Ricky Rubio | G | 2013-14 | 2 |
| 10 | John Wall | G | 2013-14 | 2 |
Stats like these show just how commonplace they've become. Do they reduce the value of a triple-double? Considering Westbrook has more triple-doubles than the Wizards have wins on the year, that may be the case.
This one probably requires a little bit more of a deep dive, but it's interesting to consider the fact that six triple-doubles in one night, which might have rendered the NBA fan base completely stunned a decade ago, barely even causes a dent in the sports news landscape today.
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