Over the last 15 NBA seasons, the triple-double has shifted from a rare statistical milestone to a more regular part of the league’s landscape. Changes in pace, spacing, shot volume, and offensive responsibility have created more opportunities for star players to impact games across points, rebounds, and assists in the same night.
At the same time, a small group of elite all-around creators has pushed the standard even higher, turning seasons that once looked historic into something closer to expectation.
This list tracks the triple-double leader for each season over that span and shows how the category has evolved through different eras, play styles, and roster structures.
Some years were defined by one player dominating the stat sheet. Others reflected a broader shift in how offenses are built around primary ball-handlers and versatile big men. Taken together, these seasons offer a clear view of how one of basketball’s most complete box-score achievements became one of the defining markers of modern NBA stardom.
2010-11 NBA Season
LeBron James – 4 Triple-Doubles
LeBron James led the NBA with four triple-doubles in 2010-11, which says as much about the era as it does about his season. Triple-doubles were still rare then. Even so, James was one of the league’s most complete players from opening night to the Finals. In his first season with the Heat, he averaged 26.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.6 blocks in 38.8 minutes per game while shooting 51.0% from the field and posting a 59.4% true shooting mark across 79 games. He also finished with 2,111 points, 590 rebounds and 554 assists for a 58-24 Heat team that ranked eighth in offense and sixth in defense.
That is the key point with this season. James did not need huge triple-double volume to dominate every area of the game. He was second in the NBA in total points, top 15 in assists per game, and one of the few stars who could control pace, create for others, finish at the rim and defend multiple positions at an elite level in the same season. He finished third in MVP voting, but his statistical profile was still absurd for a forward sharing touches with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
By current standards, four triple-doubles looks small. In 2010-11, it was enough to lead the league, and James did it while still posting one of the best all-around seasons in basketball.
2011-12 NBA Season
Rajon Rondo – 6 Triple-Doubles
Rajon Rondo led the NBA with six triple-doubles in the 2011-12 season, and the number fit the kind of year he had for the Celtics. In the lockout-shortened 66-game season, Rondo averaged 11.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 11.7 assists and 1.8 steals in 36.7 minutes per game while shooting 47.6% from the field. He led the league in assists per game and total assists with 773, which tells the real story of his season more than the scoring average does.
Rondo was the engine of the offense. He was not there to carry scoring volume. He was there to organize everything, create easy looks, control tempo and pressure defenses as a passer. The Celtics finished 39-27 and made the Eastern Conference Finals, and Rondo’s playmaking was a huge reason they still mattered at that stage of that core. He made All-NBA Third Team and kept producing even without modern spacing or a high-possession system around him.
The triple-doubles were just part of a bigger pattern. Rondo closed the regular season with 24 straight games of at least 10 assists, and one of his best all-around games came when he posted 18 points, 17 rebounds and 20 assists against the Knicks on March 4, 2012. Six triple-doubles led the league that year because the stat was still rare, but Rondo’s control over games was not. He was one of the few guards in the league who could dominate a night without needing 20 shots.
2012-13 NBA Season
Rajon Rondo – 5 Triple-Doubles
Even in only 38 games, Rajon Rondo still finished as the NBA’s triple-double leader in 2012-13 with five. Before a torn ACL ended his season, he averaged 13.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 11.1 assists and 1.8 steals in 37.4 minutes per game while shooting 48.4% from the field. He also led the league in assists per game for the second straight season, which tells you how much control he still had over the Celtics’ offense.
What makes this season stand out is the pace at which Rondo piled these games up. Five triple-doubles in 38 appearances is a serious rate, especially in an era before the stat exploded league-wide. The Celtics finished 41-40 and reached the playoffs, and Rondo’s absence after January changed the structure of that team completely. He was the engine, the organizer and the one player who consistently bent the game with passing volume.
This was not a huge scoring season, but it was a strong all-around one. Rondo’s triple-double total reflected exactly what he was then: a guard who could dominate possession, rebound his position and create offense without needing to score 25 a night.
2013-14 NBA Season
Lance Stephenson – 5 Triple-Doubles
This one was a surprise league-wide. Lance Stephenson led the NBA with five triple-doubles in 2013-14 while putting together the best full season of his career for the Pacers. He averaged 13.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 0.7 steals across 78 games, and he shot 49.1% from the field. For a wing on a contender, those are very strong all-around numbers.
Stephenson’s value that year came from versatility more than pure scoring. The Pacers finished 56-26 and earned the No. 1 seed in the East, and Stephenson gave them secondary playmaking, rebounding from the perimeter and real physicality on both ends. His triple-doubles were a good snapshot of that role. He was not the first option, but he filled gaps everywhere and often did a little bit of everything in the same game.
In hindsight, this season stands alone in Stephenson’s career. He never became a long-term star, but for one year he was one of the league’s most productive glue wings, and five triple-doubles was proof of how complete his impact could look when everything clicked.
2014-15 NBA Season
Russell Westbrook – 11 Triple-Doubles
By 2014-15, the numbers started to look more like the modern game. Russell Westbrook led the NBA with 11 triple-doubles and delivered one of the most explosive individual seasons in basketball. In 67 games for the Thunder, he averaged 28.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.6 assists and 2.1 steals while shooting 42.6% from the field. He also won the scoring title, made All-NBA First Team and finished fourth in MVP voting.
The context matters here. Kevin Durant played only 27 games, so Westbrook had to carry a massive offensive load almost all season. He responded with elite usage, relentless rim pressure and huge counting stats across the board. The Thunder finished 45-37 and missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker, but Westbrook’s production was absurd. He was not just chasing numbers. He was dragging that team through stretches where he had to do everything.
This season also felt like the bridge into what came next. Eleven triple-doubles was a big jump from the totals that had led the league in prior years, and Westbrook was the player who started turning the category into a major storyline instead of an occasional bonus.
2015-16 NBA Season
Russell Westbrook – 18 Triple-Doubles
The jump was real in 2015-16. Russell Westbrook led the NBA with 18 triple-doubles and pushed the category into a different tier as an individual weapon. In 80 games for the Thunder, he averaged 23.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 10.4 assists and 2.0 steals while shooting 45.4% from the field. He also led the league in assists per game and finished with 834 total assists, showing how much of the Thunder offense ran through him every night.
This was still a season with Kevin Durant on the roster, which matters. Westbrook was not operating with the full solo freedom that would define the next year, but he still controlled pace, created constant rim pressure and turned transition into chaos. The Thunder went 55-27 and finished third in the West, and Westbrook’s all-around production was one of the biggest reasons why.
The 18 triple-doubles were not just big box-score nights. They reflected his style better than almost any stat. He attacked every possession at full speed, rebounded like a forward and created offense at a volume few guards could match. By this point, the triple-double was starting to become part of his identity, not just an occasional result.
2016-17 NBA Season
Russell Westbrook – 42 Triple-Doubles
Then came the historic one. Russell Westbrook put up 42 triple-doubles in 2016-17, broke Oscar Robertson’s long-standing single-season record and delivered one of the most statistically overwhelming seasons the league has ever seen. After Durant left, Westbrook carried the Thunder with 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, 10.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 42.5% from the field and 34.3% from three.
He won the scoring title, averaged a triple-double for the season and won MVP. The Thunder finished 47-35 despite a roster that had no business leaning this heavily on one player for creation, late-game shot-making and overall offensive structure. Westbrook was first in usage rate and constantly played like every possession depended on him, because a lot of them did.
This season changed the conversation around triple-doubles. Before this, leading the league with five or six was normal. Westbrook more than doubled his own total from the previous year and turned a rare stat line into a nightly headline. It was extreme volume, but it was also real production tied to real burden.
2017-18 NBA Season
Russell Westbrook – 25 Triple-Doubles
A year later, the record pace cooled, but Westbrook still stayed far ahead of the field. He led the NBA with 25 triple-doubles in 2017-18 and again averaged a triple-double over a full season, posting 25.4 points, 10.1 rebounds, 10.3 assists and 1.8 steals in 80 games. He shot 44.9% from the field and remained one of the league’s most aggressive high-volume creators.
The context shifted because the Thunder now had Paul George and Carmelo Anthony. That should have reduced Westbrook’s statistical load, at least in theory. Instead, he still dominated possession, led the team in assists by a massive margin and continued to rebound at an absurd level for a guard. They went 48-34 and finished fourth in the West, but the fit never looked as smooth as the talent suggested.
What stands out here is that 25 triple-doubles almost felt average after the 42 from the year before. That is how far Westbrook had moved the standard. In another era, this would have been a legendary outlier season. For him, it was the follow-up.
2018-19 NBA Season
Russell Westbrook – 34 Triple-Doubles
What once looked impossible had become routine for Russell Westbrook by 2018-19. He led the NBA with 34 triple-doubles and averaged one for a third straight season, finishing with 22.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, 10.7 assists and 1.9 steals in 73 games for the Thunder. He shot 42.8% from the field and posted a 30.9% mark from three, so the efficiency was not great, but the total production was still overwhelming.
This version of Westbrook was not as explosive as the 2016-17 MVP peak, but he remained one of the league’s most relentless stat-sheet forces. The Thunder won 49 games and finished sixth in the West, with Westbrook and Paul George carrying most of the team’s offensive creation. George had the cleaner scoring season, but Westbrook still controlled tempo, dominated the glass for a guard and created shots at huge volume.
The triple-doubles were no longer novelty nights. They were built into how the Thunder functioned. Westbrook pushed pace, hunted rebounds to start breaks himself and lived with the ball in his hands. That style came with flaws, especially as a shooter, but it also guaranteed pressure on every possession. By then, 34 triple-doubles almost felt normal for him, which says everything about how far he had stretched the category.
2019-20 NBA Season
Luka Doncic – 17 Triple-Doubles
A new name took over in 2019-20, and it felt like the start of a long run. Luka Doncic led the NBA with 17 triple-doubles in his second season and made the jump from rising star to full superstar for the Mavericks. In 61 games, he averaged 28.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 1.0 steals while shooting 46.3% from the field and 31.6% from three.
The raw production was elite, but the broader impact mattered even more. The Mavericks finished 43-32 and built the best offensive rating in league history at the time, with Doncic as the center of everything. He controlled pace, created mismatches in pick-and-roll, punished switches in the post and generated easy shots for shooters and rollers all game long. At 6-foot-7, he was also a natural rebounder, which made triple-doubles more accessible without forcing them.
What stood out was how mature the game already looked. Doncic was not just stuffing the box score. He was dictating defensive coverages and manipulating help like a veteran primary engine. The 17 triple-doubles reflected that complete offensive command. This was the season where it became obvious that Doncic was going to become one of the greatest offensive talents in history.
2020-21 NBA Season
Russell Westbrook – 38 Triple-Doubles
Then Westbrook took the lead back in emphatic fashion. In 2020-21, he topped the league with 38 triple-doubles and once again averaged a triple-double over a full season, putting up 22.2 points, 11.5 rebounds, 11.7 assists and 1.4 steals in 65 games for the Wizards. He shot 43.9% from the field and carried an enormous playmaking burden next to Bradley Beal.
The season started slowly, but Westbrook finished it on a tear. They closed 34-38, reached the playoffs through the Play-In Tournament and surged late largely because Westbrook turned every game into a possession battle. He pushed tempo, created transition chances and attacked the glass like a forward. His assist number led the league, and his rebound total was absurd for a high-usage guard.
This season also carried historical weight because Westbrook passed Oscar Robertson for the most career triple-doubles in NBA history. That made the 38 even bigger. It was not just another huge total. It was the season that officially cemented him as the greatest triple-double producer the league has ever seen.
2021-22 NBA Season
Nikola Jokic – 19 Triple-Doubles
Nikola Jokic led the NBA with 19 triple-doubles in 2021-22, and the number captured how much he had to do for the Nuggets. He averaged 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 58.3% from the field across 74 games. The Nuggets finished 48-34, and Jokic won his second MVP award after carrying one of the league’s heaviest offensive burdens from start to finish.
This was not about empty stat-chasing. Jokic was the full structure of the offense. He scored in the post, controlled the glass, initiated halfcourt sets and created easy looks for everyone around him. That kind of all-around control is rare for any player, and even rarer from a center. The triple-doubles came naturally because the ball and the decisions always came back to him.
What made the season especially strong was the efficiency. Jokic was not just putting up big numbers. He was doing it while barely wasting possessions and keeping the Nuggets functional every night. The 19 triple-doubles were less about the milestone itself and more about his total command of games.
2022-23 NBA Season
Nikola Jokic – 29 Triple-Doubles
A season later, Jokic pushed that total way higher. He led the league with 29 triple-doubles while averaging 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and 9.8 assists on 63.2% shooting from the field. The Nuggets went 53-29 and finished first in the West, with Jokic crowned as an NBA champion in June.
The best part of this season was how effortless it looked. Jokic did not need wild usage or forced scoring to dominate. He could score inside, pick apart double teams, hit cutters and run the offense from the elbow without ever looking rushed. That is why the triple-doubles felt so repeatable. He was constantly in position to score, rebound and create because every possession ran through his hands.
Twenty-nine is a huge number in any era, but it also matched the eye test. Jokic was the league’s most reliable offensive engine in the regular season, and the Nuggets played with the kind of structure that only works when the star sees the entire floor a step ahead. The triple-double count was simply the cleanest way to measure that control.
2023-24 NBA Season
Domantas Sabonis – 26 Triple-Doubles
Domantas Sabonis broke Jokic’s run in 2023-24 by leading the NBA with 26 triple-doubles. He averaged 19.4 points, a league-best 13.7 rebounds, and 8.2 assists while shooting 59.4% from the field, giving the Kings a steady all-around presence every night. The team finished 46-36 and ninth in the West after being the 3rd seed a year earlier, but Sabonis was at the center of almost everything good they did offensively.
His triple-doubles were built differently from most players on this list. Sabonis did not get there through high-volume isolation scoring or pure on-ball dominance. He built them through dribble handoffs, interior playmaking, second-chance rebounding and constant screening action. That made him one of the league’s best connectors, even if he did not always get treated like a true star.
That is why the 26 stood out. Sabonis was everywhere in the flow of the game. He kept possessions alive, organized the offense from the middle of the floor and gave the Kings a consistent advantage on the glass. The number reflects a player who touched every layer of a game, even if his style was quieter than some of the other names in this category.
2024-25 NBA Season
Nikola Jokic – 34 Triple-Doubles
Then Jokic took the top spot back in 2024-25 with 34 triple-doubles, the biggest totals of his career. He averaged 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists, once again giving the Nuggets an offense that fully revolved around his timing, vision and scoring touch. The Nuggets finished 50-32 and fourth in the West, and Jokic remained the most complete offensive force in the league.
What separates this season from a lot of other triple-double years is how controlled it felt. Jokic was not overwhelming teams with speed or pure volume. He was breaking them down with positioning, passing angles, footwork and elite decision-making. Every game seemed to move at his pace, which is why these stat lines kept piling up without ever looking forced.
Thirty-four triple-doubles is massive on its own, but the bigger point is what it says about Jokic as a player. He had become more than a great passing center or an MVP-level big. He was a complete offensive system by himself. For the Nuggets, that meant every major category could run through him on any night.
2025-26 NBA Season
Nikola Jokic – 26 Triple-Doubles
Jokic is leading the NBA again, but this season looks less like a box-score quirk and more like full control of the league’s most demanding stat line.
After Thursday’s win over the Spurs, he is up to 26 triple-doubles in 51 games, far ahead of the field, while averaging 28.7 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists on 57.3% from the field, 38.9% from three and 83.7% at the line. He also leads the league in rebounds and assists per game, which is absurd production for a center and even more absurd when it comes with a 68.0% true shooting mark.
Jokic finished with 31 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists in a 136-131 comeback win after the Nuggets fell behind by 20 last night. That was not some quiet triple-double either. It was one of those Jokic games where he stabilized everything, survived the bad early stretches and then crushed the game once the Nuggets found rhythm. Jamal Murray had 39 points, but Jokic was the one holding the whole thing together with scoring, glass work and playmaking possession after possession.
That is why this season feels so real. The triple-doubles are not padding. They are the shape of the Nuggets’ offense. Every read, every reset, every rebound-to-break sequence keeps running through Jokic, and 26 in 51 games says he is still the cleanest all-around offensive engine in basketball.
