3 triple-doubles from unlikely sources
Stemming from New Orleans Pelicans guard Tim Frazier's impressive 14-11-11 line from Sunday night against the Phoenix Suns, here's a look at three other NBA players from years past who seemingly came out of nowhere to notch triple-doubles of their own.
Jordan Crawford, Washington Wizards (2012-12-18)
The Wizards were brutalized by injures at point guard, with both John Wall and backup A.J. Price sidelined barely 20 games into the season. Enter Jordan Crawford, who took pride in not having just one position, knowing he could step right in and adapt to running the offense.
Battling the Atlanta Hawks, Crawford wound up with the second triple-double of his young career, his first coming during his rookie season. He'd add another in 2013 with the Boston Celtics.
You can't mention unlikely triple-doubles without first bringing up Crawford. His ability to put them on the board without warning was quite impressive, though ultimately didn't get him very far.
Final line: 27 points (10-of-22 from the field), 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in 44 minutes
Ben Uzoh, Toronto Raptors (2012-04-26)
At the time, the Raptors had gone over a decade without any of their players recording a triple-double. Then, out of the blue, undrafted Ben Uzoh arrived on a 10-day contract and was eventually kept around for the remainder of the 2011-12 season.
It was the final game of the campaign, and no one of significance was playing for either side. To put it into perspective, Raptors head coach Dwane Casey trotted out one lineup for the entire second half without a single substitution.
The Nigerian guard took advantage of the most minutes he had ever seen or would ever see again in the Association in an absolute rout of the New Jersey Nets at the Air Canada Centre.
Final line: 12 points (6-of-19 from the field), 11 rebounds, and 12 assists in 46 minutes
Chuck Hayes, Houston Rockets (2011-03-23)
Hayes will be remembered for having one of the more awkward free-throw shooting forms in history, but he was more than just an ugly shot, proving to be a serviceable defensive big despite his small stature for a center (6-foot-6).
Only once in 644 career regular-season outings did he ever reach double figures in the assist department - frankly, being a passer was never really his forte (career average of 1.2 dimes), nor was it expected of him.
But everything just clicked against the Golden State Warriors, who provided little to no resistance against the Rockets, on this March evening. Hayes whipped passes through the lane, found cutters with his back to the basket, and was basically the on-court reincarnation of Calvin Murphy with the way he was feeding his teammates.
Final line: 13 points (5-of-11 from the field), 14 rebounds, and 11 assists in 38 minutes