The Only NBA Player To Average Triple Double
Oscar Robertson Says No One Will Ever Average Triple-Double
Sep 29, 2009
Oscar Robertson admits that during the 1961-62 NBA season he had no idea he was making history with the Cincinnati Royals as the only player in NBA history to average a triple-double over an entire season when he finished the campaign with 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists.
Later Recognition
The NBA Hall of Famer said the record wasn't recognized until much later but he believes great such as Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain could have averaged a triple-double as well had steals and blocked shots been recorded by the NBA before 1973. Still Robertson believes that no other NBA player will ever average a triple-double over an entire season.
Definition
A so-called "triple-double" is recorded when a player has 10 or more in three of the following categories: points, assists, rebounds, steals, and blocked shots. Prior to the 1973-74 season, the NBA did not record steals and blocked shots. That meant that Russell and Chamberlain's amazing shot-blocking skills were not taken into account in the record books.
All-Time Leader
Robertson is the all-time NBA leader in triple-doubles during the regular season with 181, including 41 during the 1961-62 season. Although he averaged the triple-double only for the 1961-62 season, Robertson actually amazingly averaged a triple-double over his first five seasons in the NBA. He scored 30.3 points in his first five seasons in the league while adding 10.4 rebounds and 10.6 assists. He twice missed a season triple-double with assists (9.7 in 1960-61 and 9.5 in 1962-63) and twice with rebounds (9.9 in 1963-64 and 9.0 in 1964-65).
Magic Second, Kidd Third
Magic Johnson was second all-time in games with triple-doubles with 138 during the regular season with an all-time high 30 triple-doubles in the Playoffs, where Robertson had eight. Jason Kidd finished the 2008-09 season with 103 triple-doubles to place third all-time.
Robertson Did Not Know
Robertson admitted during a press meeting in Katowice, Poland on September 20, 2009 that he didn't even know what he was accomplishing back in the early 1960s.
"To be honest, I didn't know anything about it. I did not know I was averaging a triple-double at all. It only came about much, much later when (Larry) Bird was playing along with Magic and some other players. And they started talking about triple-doubles. They had to go back into the archives to find it out. Which means to me that they missed a lot. But this is what happened with Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. They're not counted when you talk about blocked shots because they started much later in basketball in the 70s, which is a real insult to them both as defenders. But this is where we are, they missed a lot."
Can Anyone Average A Triple-Double?
When asked if any NBA player could repeat his feat of a triple-double over an entire season, Robertson said no. "I think it would take a lot of minutes in a game to do that. But I don't think players today play as many minutes as I did as a guard. I averaged like 46 minutes a game. These players don't have that kind of stamina at all. It's too demanding. The way they play this game they won't be able to do that at all. I mean who averages 10 rebounds a game? Very few players. Centers don't even average that many. (Dwight) Howard averages 13. But he's a center. He's 7-foot. He should get that every night and sometimes he doesn't."
