5 youngest NBA players to record a triple-double
Recording a triple-double is one of the most difficult things to accomplish in an NBA game. The current leader in career triple-doubles is Russell Westbrook (184), while Magic Johnson tops the list in postseason play with 30.
Westbrook is also one of two players to have averaged a triple-double in an entire NBA season. He has done so in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021. The other is Oscar Robertson, who did so in 1962.
The 2017 MVP, Westbrook, recorded his first triple-double at the age of 20 years and 110 days. On that note, here are the five youngest players to record a triple-double in an NBA game.
5 youngest NBA players to record a triple-double
#5 Victor Wembanyama (20 years and 6 days)
Victor Wembanyama became the fifth youngest NBA player to record a triple-double, just six days after his 20th birthday. On Jan. 10, 2024, against the Pistons, Wembanyama finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
The rookie beat Lonzo Ball to the fifth spot on this list. Ball was 20 years and 15 days old when he recorded his first triple-double. Wembanyama also became one of the fastest to record a triple-double after doing it under 21 minutes.
Wemby is the only player, along with Russell Westbrook, to achieve the milestone while playing less than 21 minutes in the last 40 seasons.
#4 Luka Doncic (19 years and 327 days)
Luka Doncic has taken the NBA by storm ever since he entered the league in 2018. Doncic is the fourth-youngest player to record a triple-double, when he did so at the age of 19 years and 327 days.
Doncic's first triple-double in the NBA happened on Jan. 21, 2019, against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Fiserv Forum. The Mavs star recorded 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, but it wasn't enough to get a win for his team.
Currently, Doncic has 66 triple-doubles in his career, entering just his fifth year in the NBA. He's already ninth on the all-time list.
#3 Markelle Fultz (19 years and 317 days)
Markelle Fultz of the Orlando Magic has been through a lot in his young NBA career. Fultz was a former first overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers who had one of the worst cases of yips in sports history.
Despite his problems in 2018, Fultz became the youngest player to ever record a triple-double. At 19 years and 317 days old, he recorded 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in a blowout win against the Milwaukee Bucks on April 11, 2018.
Although Fultz's record would be broken three years later, he still has a great future ahead of him. Before his knee injury a couple of seasons ago, he was well on his way to having a breakout campaign for the Magic.
#2 LaMelo Ball (19 years and 140 days)
LaMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets is the 2021 Rookie of the Year. Ball also used to be the youngest player to record a triple-double, doing so at just 19 years and 140 days old.
Ball recorded 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists on January 29th, 2021, against the Atlanta Hawks at home. The Hornets won that game 113-105.
Ball has registered 10 career triple-doubles already and is a threat to do so on a nightly basis. Expect him to add to his triple-double tally in the years to come.
#1 Josh Giddey (19 years and 84 days)
Josh Giddey was the sixth overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft by the OKC Thunder. Giddey took the league by storm after becoming the youngest player to record a triple-double. He did it on Jan. 2, 2022, against the Dallas Mavericks.
Giddey was just 19 years old and 84 days old when he broke LaMelo Ball's record less than a year after he broke it. He also recorded three more triple-doubles that could have broken Ball's record.
It means the first four triple-doubles of Giddey's career are the youngest ages in NBA history to accomplish the feat. No current player in the league can break the Thunder star's record.