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If you’re arguing about a player with a friend, and the friend defends the player by citing their double-double numbers, are you hearing them out or asking what year they just time-traveled from?
Triple-Doubles?
Do they still matter in the NBA?
During last night’s 126-114 loss to the Cavaliers, Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokić notched the 139th triple-double of his career. He had another stat line with 27 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists. Pretty ridiculous, but he’s made stuff like this look standard. (It wasn’t enough to overcome four different Cavs players scoring at least 20, led by Donovan Mitchell’s game-high 28. But the Cavs are just doing that to teams this season.)
This being his 139th triple-double is noteworthy because he passed Magic Johnson on the triple-double list. Magic did it in 906 career games. Jokić? Just 692 games. Quite bonkers to think about. It also left me wondering if there’s a hollowness to this feat. The triple-double doesn’t feel the same as it used to. Feels like 20 years ago, a player accomplishing a triple-double would have led SportsCenter. Now? It’s become just a footnote.
I’m old enough to remember double-doubles being a relatively hallowed statistical feat. We’d track which players had the longest double-double streaks, and it eventually became something to remember David Lee by. Even now, a Kings broadcast might mention Domantas Sabonis and his number of double-doubles, but he’s also become a bit of a triple-double machine.
The triple-double is something you celebrate a lot more if your favorite player or a guy on your favorite team does it. If someone elsewhere does it, you might chalk it up to stat-padding or “it’s just what happens in this era.” The triple-double has been watered down. I think we can pinpoint when. The 2016-17 season is when Russell Westbrook did the unthinkable. He averaged a triple-double for the entire season, which hadn’t been done since Oscar Robertson in 1961-62.
Shortly after, we saw James Harden really rack them up, LeBron James add to the tally and Luka Dončić pile them on. The explosion of the triple-double has made it a far more regular feeling than it ever was before.
Searching on Basketball-Reference’s Stathead feature, I tallied up 3,238 triple-doubles in the nearly 79 years of the league. It sounds like a lot! But if you split the NBA’s existence between the first 70 years and the last nine (when the Westbrook triple-double season began), the split on triple-doubles is kind of wild.
- First 70 seasons of the NBA: 2,215 triple-doubles. That’s 68.4 percent of the triple-doubles.
- Last nine seasons: 1,023 triple-doubles. 31.6 percent of triple-doubles.
That’s a bonkers ratio! Especially when you consider, the ninth season of this split is only a little over a month into it. I don’t even really know what to do with that information. I just decided to look it up because my recent feelings on triple-doubles the last couple years have been relatively muted. The dramatic triple-dips wow me, but you have to remind yourself this kind of thing isn’t actually mundane.
Why are triple-doubles exploding like this? Catering to stars has mutated in the player empowerment era. I don’t even say that negatively. It’s just a fact as coaches, front offices and ownership groups want to keep these stars happy, in line for awards and employed by their respective franchises. Cooler stats. Bigger Q rating. Better value in their bank accounts. More accolades. Generational wealth ensues. The reasons do add up.
But Russell Westbrook getting his 200th recently is significant. Jokić passing Magic Johnson is significant. Maybe the milestones are more meaningful than the individual moments.
The Last 24
Khris Middleton’s season debut is tonight
🏀 Wolves defense back? Since Anthony Edwards called out his team, the Wolves’ defense has been humming. Is it fixed?
🏀 John Hollinger unveiled his All-Disappointment Team … it’s highlighted by a surprising name.
💸 Rockets fined! Ime Udoka, Alperen Şengün and Tari Eason all were fined for their scuffle against the Kings. $100,000 total.
✈️ In 2025, the NBA will return to China for two preseason games. Mike Vorkunov has the details.
👋 Welcome back, Khris! Bucks wing Khris Middleton is making his season debut tonight in Boston. Speaking of: Milwaukee needs him.
📺 Don’t miss this game tonight. Bucks (11-10) at Celtics (18-4), 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
📺 Late night action. Timberwolves (11-10) at Warriors (13-8), 10 p.m. ET on ESPN. The Wolves want to keep things moving, and the Warriors need to right the ship.
Over/Under Checkup
How are your bets from preseason doing?
One staple in preparing for a new NBA season is checking in on the over/unders. Our friends at BetMGM always provide them for us, and then, we start pontificating on what could or couldn’t be. Over the last couple days, we looked at the first quarter of the 2024-25 season and threw down a report card for each conference. (Check the East and West grades at your leisure.)
Today, I wanted to look at some of the interesting over/under numbers from the preseason and see where we are with them. Let’s highlight three teams projected to hit the over and three teams projected to take the under.
Projected overs
Cavaliers (o/u 48.5): Cleveland has the NBA’s best record at 20-3, putting the Cavs on pace for 71 victories this season. Of course, that feels extreme, even after their 15-0 start to everything. I already feel so dumb for picking the Cavs to finish just under the 48.5 number. If you’re rooting against it, then you would probably highlight the Cavs are just 5-3 since their historic start. Even if they kept that pace the rest of the season, they’d hit 61 wins. Way over.
Nets (o/u 19.5): The Nets are 10-13, and, while that doesn’t seem terribly impressive to the casual observer, they’re already halfway to hitting the over. Everybody assumed the Nets were in full tank mode after getting their picks back. That might take some gutting before the trade deadline. They’re on pace for 35 wins.
Warriors (o/u 43.5): The Warriors are on pace for 50 wins, and it’s a good confirmation of what I felt about them going into this season. Last year, the Warriors would’ve been flirting with 50 wins if Draymond Green hadn’t gotten suspended for weeks on end. Plus, I thought they upgraded their roster this summer.
Projected unders
Pacers (o/u 46.5): After last season’s conference finals appearance, the Pacers are headed toward 32 wins. Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith have missed a lot of games, but should that keep them as an under .500 team?
76ers (o/u 51.5): It’s just worth noting the 5-15 Sixers are on pace for 20 wins this season, and this isn’t a “trust the process” campaign. They would need to go 47-15 the rest of the way to hit the over.
Nuggets (o/u 51.5): Now that the 11-9 Nuggets are healthy again, it’ll be interesting to track this one. They’re on pace for 45 wins. Their preferred starting lineup is just 3-5 this season. Destined for the Play-In Tournament?
About Last Night
Warriors, Rockets proved defense is so in
We’re so obsessed with scoring, but Ime Udoka and Steve Kerr are as passionate about defense as they are about yelling at the refs this week. This had to be a very frustrating game for the Rockets (15-8), who lost 99-93 to the Warriors (13-8). These are two of the best defenses in the league, so getting shut down by either team isn’t rare by any means. But the Warriors were without Steph Curry and Draymond Green. The Rockets still couldn’t take them down.
Jonathan Kuminga led with 33 points, and Andrew Wiggins had 23 next to him. Those were the only double-digit scorers for the Warriors. The Rockets just couldn’t get going in the slightest. The Warriors held Houston to less than 38 percent from the field and under 27 percent from deep. It was just the fourth time this season the Warriors held a team under 100 points, and they needed it to snap their five-game losing streak.
Grizzlies 115 (15-8), Kings 110 (10-13): If you told the Kings going into this game that they’d hold Ja Morant to eight points on 2-of-13 shooting and force the Grizzlies into 22 turnovers, they’d have to feel like they’re getting the win on the road. The Grizzlies had seven players in double figures, led by Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart with 18 each. Sacramento has won just two of its last nine. Memphis has won seven of eight.
Pelicans 126 (9-15), Suns 124 (12-9): The Pelicans are starting to look a little healthy, and they gave everybody a good reminder that the Suns really struggle without Kevin Durant (ankle). Herb Jones blocked Devin Booker’s game-winning 3-point attempt, and Brandon Ingram had 29 points to lead the Pelicans to just their fifth victory of the season.
Mavericks 137 (15-8), Wizards 101 (2-18): Luka Dončić had an easy 21-10-10 triple-double (yawn) as the Mavericks won their sixth straight game. More impressively, the Wizards continue their futility on the court, dropping their 16th straight game. Washington has tied its longest losing streak in franchise history (done last season and in 2010).
Knicks 125 (14-8), Hornets 101 (6-16): Karl-Anthony Towns (27), OG Anunoby (25) and Jalen Brunson (24) combined for 76 points as the Knicks torched the Hornets from downtown. They made 18 3-pointers on just 33 attempts. That’s nine of their last 11 ending up in the win column.
Bulls 139 (11-10), Spurs 124 (11-11): Nikola Vučević took advantage of Victor Wembanyama missing this game by dropping 39 points, eight rebounds and five assists while making 16 of his 22 shots. Ayo Dosunmu had 27 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds and just one turnovers as the Bulls rolled.
Thunder 129 (17-5), Raptors 92 (7-16): The Thunder had 15 steals and 11 blocks in their total domination of the Raptors. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had another 30-point game and Isaiah Hartenstein had a weird stat line of 16 rebounds, six assists and just two points.
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(Top photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images )
