What Is a Triple-Double? Double-Doubles, Quadruples and Records

A triple-double is a game in which a basketball player reaches 10 or more in three of the five main statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. The most common version is 10 or more points, rebounds and assists in the same game, which shows a player who scored, finished defensive possessions and set up teammates all in one night.

The same idea scales up and down. Two categories in double figures is a double-double, which is common. Four is a quadruple-double, which has been officially recorded by only four players in NBA history. This guide explains each one, shows how the underlying stats are counted, works through examples with real arithmetic and lists the records worth knowing.

The five categories that count

NBA.com's stats glossary defines a triple-double as a double-digit total in three of the five categories in a game. Those five are the only ones that count:

• Points: every made basket and free throw.
• Rebounds: recovering the ball after a missed shot, on offense or defense.
• Assists: a pass that leads directly to a made basket.
• Steals: taking the ball from an offensive player and causing a turnover.
• Blocks: deflecting a shot attempt to stop the scoring chance.

Turnovers, fouls and minutes do not count toward a triple-double, even though they appear in the same box score. Neither do made three-pointers as a separate category; they are already inside the points total.

Double-double, triple-double and beyond

The naming is simply a count of how many categories reach 10:

• Double-double: 10 or more in two categories. A center with 16 points and 12 rebounds has one. So does a point guard with 21 points and 10 assists.
• Triple-double: 10 or more in three categories. Points, rebounds and assists is by far the most common combination, because steals and blocks rarely reach 10 for anyone.
• Quadruple-double: 10 or more in four categories. This almost always means points, rebounds and assists plus either 10 steals or 10 blocks, which is why it is so rare.
• Quintuple-double: 10 in all five. It has never been officially recorded in the NBA.

There is also an informal "five-by-five": at least 5 in each of the five categories. It is a different kind of all-round game, and it does not need any category to reach 10.

How the stats are counted, with worked examples

Points are the easiest. A made basket inside the three-point line is worth 2, one from beyond the arc is worth 3 and a free throw is worth 1. Take a hypothetical player who makes six two-point shots, two three-pointers and four free throws: 6 x 2 + 2 x 3 + 4 x 1 = 12 + 6 + 4 = 22 points.

The other categories are judgment calls made by the official scorekeepers at each arena, which is why they occasionally get corrected after a game. Rebounds are credited to the player who gains control of a missed shot, and the box score splits them into offensive and defensive rebounds that add up to the total. Some rebounds are not attributed to any single player and are credited to the team instead, so a team's rebound total in the box score can be higher than the sum of its players.

Assists are the most subjective. NBA.com describes an assist as a pass that leads directly to a made basket. A pass to a teammate who scores right away is an assist; a pass to a teammate who then beats two defenders off the dribble usually is not. The pass also earns nothing if the shot misses.

Now some hypothetical stat lines to test yourself:

• Player A: 18 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists. Two categories reach 10, so it is a double-double. One more assist would have made it a triple-double.
• Player B: 12 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists. Exactly 10 counts, so this is a triple-double.
• Player C: 31 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 10 blocks. Points and blocks reach 10, so it is a double-double, and an unusual one.
• Player D: 14 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 steals. Four categories reach 10, so this would be a quadruple-double.

High totals do not change the label. A 50-point, 9-rebound, 9-assist game is a remarkable night, but it is not a triple-double, while a quiet 10-10-10 is.

Why quadruple-doubles are so rare

Two things make the quadruple-double the rarest milestone in the box score. The first is history: the NBA did not officially record steals and blocks until the 1973-74 season, so earlier games cannot produce an official quadruple-double no matter what happened on the court. The second is that 10 steals or 10 blocks in a game is extraordinary on its own, and a player who manages it also needs double figures in two other categories.

Only four players have officially recorded one: Nate Thurmond, Alvin Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson. Thurmond's came for the Chicago Bulls on October 18, 1974, with 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocks. Robertson's, for the San Antonio Spurs in 1986, is the only one built on steals: 20 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals. Robinson's, also for the Spurs, on February 17, 1994, was 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 blocks. No player has recorded one since.

Older stars are sometimes credited with unofficial quadruple-doubles based on later reconstructions of games from before 1973-74, Wilt Chamberlain being the usual example. Because steals and blocks were not official stats then, those games do not appear in the record books.

Triple-double records worth knowing

Most of the big triple-double records have been set by players active in the last decade or so. According to NBA.com's list updated in August 2026, Russell Westbrook holds the career record for regular-season triple-doubles with 209. He also holds the single-season record of 42, set in 2016-17, and the longest streak, 11 straight games in 2019. Nikola Jokić was second with 198 entering the 2026-27 season, having passed Oscar Robertson's long-standing total of 181 in February 2026. Robertson, now third, held the career record for decades.

Averaging a triple-double for a whole season is even harder, because a player has to keep three categories at 10 or more per game across an entire season. Robertson did it first, in 1961-62, with 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists per game. Westbrook has done it four times (2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2020-21), and Jokić did it in 2024-25 and again in 2025-26, making him and Westbrook the only players to do it in back-to-back seasons.

The milestone exists in every level of basketball. In the WNBA, where games are 40 minutes instead of 48, triple-doubles are rarer, and Alyssa Thomas holds the league's career record.

Quick checklist: is it a triple-double

Run any box score line through these steps:

• Look only at points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.
• Count how many of those five are 10 or higher. Exactly 10 counts.
• Two is a double-double, three is a triple-double, four is a quadruple-double.
• Ignore turnovers, fouls, minutes and shooting percentages for this purpose.
• If you are reading a game from before 1973-74, remember steals and blocks were not officially tracked.

For more on reading an NBA game, see how long an NBA game lasts, including the quarters, the clock and overtime. If you follow other sports too, hockey's closest equivalent milestone is the hat trick, and baseball's numbers start with OPS.