NBA History: Listing the only 6 players to record a 50-point triple-double
Triple-doubles have forever been a mark of elite-level all-round basketball. However, with time, the ease of collecting double-digit points, rebounds and assists have arguably seen an apparent uptick. As the Father of TDs, Oscar Robertson summed it up aptly,
"During our time, we couldn't expect to kick the ball out to the three-point line in order to get an assist .. you had to always pass it to someone who was moving towards the basket. Well, that's how the game has changed."
The aforementioned notion is backed by the fact that the modern-day basketball floor is spreading away from the basket. Players are slipping past the three-point line and the spacing in the paint and/or under the rim has seen a major tectonic shift.
With that in mind, let's take a look at the only six players in the history of the NBA to have scored a 50-point triple-double - a feat worth applauding.
#6 Richie Guerin
In only his second season with the Knicks, Richie Guerin made the NBA All-Star Team for the first of six straight years. After dishing out a (then) team-record 21 assists against St. Louis on December 12, 1958, he averaged a career-high 29.5 points per game during the 1961-62 regular season in a Knicks uniform, followed by a fine season in 1962–63, wherein he averaged a team-leading 21.5 points.
His only career 50-point triple-double came in 1962 (when he recorded 50 points, 11 boards and 13 dimes playing against Philly) in what proved to be his last season at New York as he ended up getting traded to the St. Louis Hawks for cash and a second-round draft choice.
Guerin ended up coaching St Louis/Atlanta Hawks from 1964–1972 and his stint included the 'Coach of the Year' honour in 1968.