Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic. Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

European trio sets incredible milestone for single NBA season

By Sai Mohan | Last updated 4/3/24

In the 2013-14 season, Lance Stephenson led the NBA with five triple-doubles. That's how rare a triple-double was a decade ago. This season, the player who ranks fifth in triple-doubles — Josh Hart — has one more than Stephenson did 10 years ago.

While Russell Westbrook can be credited for leading the triple-double revolution, three European players have taken the process of stuffing the stat sheet to a whole new level.

On Tuesday night, Luka Doncic registered his 20th triple-double of the season with 30 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists against the Warriors. The Mavs star joined Domantas Sabonis and Nikola Jokic as the third player with 20 or more triple-doubles this season, making NBA history in the process.

Triple doubles this season:

26 — Domantas Sabonis
23 — Nikola Jokic
20 — Luka Doncic

First season in NBA history that 3 players recorded at least 20 triple-doubles. pic.twitter.com/JWtGcYMclX
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 3, 2024

To illustrate the incredible feat, just consider that only Jokic, with 29, had more than 20 triple-doubles last year, and no player reached the 20 mark in the 2021-22 season. In fact, Westbrook, in 2016, was the first player to cross the 20 threshold since Wilt Chamberlain in the 1967-68 season.

As players continue to rack up the triple-doubles, there is a theory that the once-coveted stat is starting to lose its significance. If the stat was as valued as in yesteryears, the player who leads the league in triple-doubles this season, Sabonis, wouldn't have been snubbed from the All-Star team.

In another 10 years, we could see multiple players averaging a triple-double and not make the All-Star team.

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