Many times we have heard how useless the triple-doubles completed by some players are. This curious maxim, rarely verified with data, has nothing to do with what is happening this season, in which a triple-double by a player has great chances of victory for his team.
Hispanosnba.com has compiled data so far this season. To date, 60 triple-doubles have been completed by 24 players, and those 60 triple-doubles have resulted in 48 wins and just 12 losses.
The kings in this facet of the game this season are Nikola Jokic (13 triple-doubles) and Luka Doncic (10). Well, for the Serbian doing a triple-double is synonymous with victory for his team and for the Slovenian practically too. Denver is 13-0 in Jokic’s 13 triple-doubles and Dallas is 9-1 in Doncic’s 10.
Among the 9 players who have made at least 2 triple-doubles this season, the balance is very eloquent. In 43 completed triple-doubles… 37 wins and only 6 losses.
Russell Westbrook has a 2-2, Domantas Sabonis and 3-1, I Morant and 3-0, James Harden and 3-0, Pascal I’m sorry and 1-1, Josh Giddey a 1-1 and Giannis Antetokounmpo and 2-0.
Beyond these unequivocal figures (making a triple-double means that your team wins 80% of the time this season), we cannot forget the level that some players are having when it comes to making mammoth triple-doubles.
Doncic, for example, has 9 of his 10 triple-doubles with 30 or more points, of which 4 are with 40 or more and one, registered on December 27, left us with figures never seen before: 60 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists.
Jokic, meanwhile, has already made triple-doubles this season against 12 different teams, he has 5 in the 17 days spent in January and has completed 2 triple-doubles of 40 or more points: a 40-27-10 against the Hornets on December 18 and a 41-15-15 against Phoenix on the 25th of that same month. In addition to doing one in which he gave more assists than points, with the 11-14-16 against the Lakers.
It is clear that doing a triple-double in these times no longer has the same value as completing it in the past, but what does have value this season is that a triple-double and victory practically go hand in hand.