If you watch basketball at all, chances are you’ve heard the term “double-double.”
It’s a pretty easy concept to understand, but there are many types of double-doubles, which can make things a little complicated to figure out at times.
To help with that, let’s discuss what a double-double is, what different types of double-doubles are out there, and some interesting facts about the statistic you may not know.
What is a Double-Double?
A double-double occurs when a player gets double digits in 2 different statistical categories.
There are 5 major individual stats in basketball:
- Points
- Rebounds
- Assists
- Steals
- Blocks
Any player who gets 10 or more in two of these individual stats achieves a double-double.
Example: 12 points and 11 rebounds
(Note: Any player who gets 10 more more in THREE individual stats achieves a triple-double.)
Notice I didn’t mention anything about the other 3 categories.
That’s because it doesn’t matter if the player gets a 0 for all of those. As long as he has double digits in 2 of the categories, it is still a double-double.
The most common double-double by far is achieved with points and rebounds.
However, smaller players have achieved theirs by combining points with either assists or steals.
So the beauty of the double-double is that any position on the floor can achieve it since all stats are looked at evenly for it.
NBA Double-Double Leaders
Most career double-doubles?
Wilt Chamberlain
With 968 double-doubles, Wilt Chamberlain is the career leader in this statistic by far.
However, there is some question of whether he should be the career leader since double-doubles only became an official NBA stat after he retired.
Some people view Tim Duncan as the career leader with 841 since all his double-doubles occurred after it became an official NBA stat.
However, Wilt Chamberlin was a man among boys for the most part throughout his NBA career, so there is little question whether he was able to achieve high amounts of points and rebounds regularly, whether it was an official stat or not.
Longest streak of double-doubles?
Wilt Chamberlain
It’s no surprise that Wilt also holds this record, but you might be surprised at just how long his streak was.
For 227 consecutive games, Wilt Chamberlain achieved a double-double with points and rebounds.
To put that into context, he recorded a double-double in every game of almost 3 consecutive NBA seasons.
Even more impressive, Wilt Chamberlain has the next 2 longest double-double streaks in the NBA as well, with one 220 games and the other 133 games.
“Special” double-doubles leader?
Wilt Chamberlain
The NBA classifies some double-doubles as “special,” like if you achieve 30 or 40 of each of the 2 statistics.
And again, Wilt Chamberlain leads in these 2 categories as well.
He had 124 games with both point and rebound totals in the 30s.
To show how impressive that is, that is over 4 times as many as all the other 30-30 double-doubles that have occurred by other players in NBA history COMBINED.
Wilt is also the only NBA player who has achieved a 40-40 double-double, accomplishing that feat on 8 occasions.
Most double-doubles with points and assists?
John Stockton
John Stockton has the most career NBA double-doubles involving assists, having achieved this in 714 games.
Stockton was an expert at the pick & roll, especially with his teammate Karl Malone.
The two of them picked apart NBA defenses for years with that action, which allowed Stockton to rack up both points and assists.
Most double-doubles with points and blocks?
Hakeem Olajuwon
Hakeem Olajuwon ended his career as the all-time blocks leader in NBA history.
Because of his great shot-blocking skill, he also played numerous games where he was able to reject 10 or more shots.
This led him to be the all-time NBA leader in double-doubles involving blocks with 11.
Youngest NBA player with a double-double?
Tracy McGrady
Tracy McGrady is the youngest NBA player to record a double-double, achieving this at 18 years and 175 days.
Numerous other teenage NBA players have recorded double-doubles, including LeBron James, Dwight Howard, and Jalen Duren.
Oldest NBA player with a double-double?
Sing Mutombo
Dikembe Mutombo was able to register a double-double at the age of 42 years and 289 days by getting 10 points and 15 rebounds in a game.
This instance is the only recorded double-double in NBA history that was achieved by a player over 40 years of age.
Conclusion
A double-double is an excellent statistic for players to strive for, because it means they are doing multiple things well on the basketball court and are versatile players skilled at various things.
Even better, it is an achievement that can be reached by any player, regardless of what position they play, since any 2 categories in double figures can count toward a double-double.
Whether you are a big post who dominates like Wilt Chamberlain or an undersized guard who can distribute like John Stockton, a double-double is definitely something you should look to achieve on the court.
