NBA already has more triple-doubles this season than any in past 26 years
For all the subjective, arbitrary, headline-grabbing debate over the relative merits of one NBA era versus another, one thing is objectively clear: The league this season has become a triple-double haven.
With every team having somewhere between 14 and 17 games left on its regular-season schedule, the NBA has already cumulatively posted 54 triple-doubles in 2015-16, more than it has had in any season since 1989-90, according to research from ESPN's Kevin Pelton.
Pelton attributes this fact in part to the uptick in league-wide pace, noting that on a possession-per-game basis, the league is playing faster this season than it has since 1992-93. More possessions allow for more scoring and assist opportunities, and more available rebounds.
Which is why even though Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook didn't end up averaging a triple-double last season, his numbers compared favorably to those put up by Oscar Robertson during his famed 1961-62 season, when he averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 11.4 assists while playing at a pace considerably faster than even the turbocharged league of today.
Westbrook is leading the league in triple-doubles for a second straight season, nudging past Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (and Westbrook's own career-high mark set last year) with his 12th of the campaign on Monday night. In the Basketball-Reference database, which dates back to the 1983-84 season, the highest single-season total belongs to Magic Johnson, who had 17 triple-doubles in 1988-89. Westbrook's current tally is already tied for seventh on that list, and ranks second-highest since the turn of the millennium (Jason Kidd had 13 in 2007-08).
Westbrook and Green have done most of the heavy lifting, but the league total has gotten a significant boost from multi-positional ninja Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has four triple-doubles since the All-Star break alone, as the Milwaukee Bucks have employed him as a point guard more and more frequently.
Sacramento Kings point guard Rajon Rondo has contributed five of his own, while Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside has produced three, each of which substituted blocks for assists.
Some unusual suspects have gotten in on the act too, including the likes of Brandon Knight, Matt Barnes, and Raymond Felton.