The leader in triple-doubles for the Utah Jazz will surprise you.
The modern NBA has made triple-doubles seem far more common than they really were. Guys like Luka Doncic, Russell Westbrook, and Nikola Jokic have made the concept a far less impressive feat than they once were. There was a time when the concept of a triple-double was impressive. A highlight of the night, but in the modern NBA, that’s just no longer the case. Yet, for the Utah Jazz, that’s a stat that still holds meaning.
If you’re not sure what a triple-double is, it’s when a player registers at least double digits in three different stat lines. So in a game, a player could register 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, and earn a triple-double. Same with 10 rebounds, 10 blocks, and 10 steals.
It used to be the height of single-game excellence. Now, they’ve almost become as common as double-doubles. Which is the same idea, just in two categories. And the Jazz are quite familiar with that. Karl Malone, one of the league’s less-than-refutable icons, once held the record for not only the most double-doubles in Jazz history (799) but in NBA history as well (814).
So the Jazz know something about something, and sure double-doubles don’t have the same significant importance these days as a triple-double, but at least the Jazz are rich in that area.
Unlike the triple-double stat, where their franchise leader has just seven. That’s right, a number that Jokic or Donic could pull off in 10 games at any point of the season is the current franchise record for triple-doubles.
And who holds that record? Pete Marivich, who broke the record in the 1970s. Mark Eaton comes in second with six double-doubles, while Andrei Kirilenko and Karl Malone have three a piece.
The Jazz doesn’t have anyone on the team that looks like they could break that record anytime soon but maybe someone like Keyonte George could, that is if his comparison to being a young Westbrook holds any water whatsoever.