Luka Doncic's 80th NBA triple-double ranks him where?

Luka Doncic recorded his 80th NBA regular-season triple-double in a wild win over the Warriors Sunday night.

RELATED: NBA fans destroy Warriors guard after Luka Doncic puts the clamps on him

We'll get to where he moves to on the all-time list but first, here's a little Monday sports trivia for ya: Do you know the first year the NBA officially started keeping track of triple-doubles?

The answer is the 1979–80 season. However, the first known instance of a player achieving a triple-double, according to Wikipedia, was on December 14, 1950, when Andy Phillips of the Philadelphia Warriors accomplished the feat.

OK, but who coined it when did it first appear in print?

The term "triple-double" is credited to either Harvey Pollack, a statistician for the Philadelphia 76ers, or Bruce Jolesch, the public relations director for the Los Angeles Lakers. The phrase first appeared in print in the Los Angeles Times in October 1980. Per a 2008 Associated Press story:

Magic Johnson’s amazing games made Pollack realize he needed a catchy title for double digits in points, rebounds and assists.



The triple-double was born.



Johnson was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2002, the same year Pollack was the recipient of the Hall’s John Bunn Award, given annually for lifetime contributions to the game of basketball.



“I walked up to Magic and said, ‘You know, without me you wouldn’t even be here today,”‘ Pollack said. “He says, ‘What do you mean?’ I said, ‘Who do you think coined the name triple-double and made you famous for doing it?’ Now it’s a regular stat. He thanked me.”

Scott Ostler, now a columnist with the San Francisco Chronicle, has also claimed credit, not for the concept of the triple double, but for the name. Here’s how he told the story in 2017:

It was about 1980 and I was covering the Los Angeles Lakers as a beat writer [for the Los Angeles Times]. The team was playing in Philadelphia. Before the game a couple of other writers and I were chatting with 76ers stat man Harvey Pollack, a certified NBA legend and the godfather of sports statistics.

Pollack, a genial fellow, said, “Hey, I just invented a new stat, tell me what you guys think of it. It’s when a player gets double figures in points, rebounds and assists. I call it double-doubles.”

“Great stat,” I said, adding, “but shouldn’t it be triple-doubles?”

“Oh, of course,” Pollack said.

It was a minor, momentary brain glitch by this famed statistician. Pollack would have caught the slip himself, but Mr. Impertinent here couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

Anyhow, whoever deserves credit, it's a cool name/stat.

Russell Westbrook has earned the nickname "Mr. Triple-Double" because he's the all-time leader with an incredible 200 and also because he once averaged a triple-double for three straight seasons with the Thunder (2016-17 until 2018-19) and then did that again in 2020-2021 with the Washington Wizards.

He recorded a record-breaking 42 triple-doubles in the 2016-17 season alone.

Before him, only the legendary Oscar Robertson achieved the same feat in a single season. The "Big O" averaged 30.8 PPG, 12.5 RPG and 11.4 APG during the 1961-62 campaign with the Cincinnati Royals.

Westbrook has held the league record since May 10, 2021, when he recorded his 182nd triple-double to surpass Oscar Robertson's all-time record of 181, which had stood since 1974.

Westbrook, now with the Nuggets, is 36 and is slowing down a bit. His last triple-double was Nov. 19 (12 points, 10 rebounds, 14 assists) in a win over Memphis. It's his first and only one so far this season.

Could be his last.

The two biggest threats to his all-time mark are Denver's all-world Nicola Jokic (139, No. 3) and Doncic (No. 7 with his 80).

And those two stud stat-stuffers are still young.

Hard to believe, but Doncic is still 25; he turns 26 at the end of February.

Jokic turns 30 next year, also in February.

One of them could break it when all their stats are compiled, and they've called it careers. What is known is that all five of the retired players that we're about to list for most triple-doubles in NBA history are enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

The other seven will be someday.

Here are the NBA's top 12 all-time leaders in regular-season triple doubles:

Russell Westbrook (200)

Oscar Robertson (181)

Nikola Jokic (139)

Magic Johnson (139)

LeBron James (119)

Jason Kidd (107)

James Harden (78)

Wilt Chamberlain (78)

Domantas Sabonis (62)

Larry Bird (59)

Giannis Antetokounmpo (46)

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