Quadruple Double -- Is this Rondo's Next Stepping Stone to Immortality?

The reason why [quadruple-double] is such a hard thing to accomplish is because it requires a player to be completely dominant on both ends of the court without being too selfish—so he can get the assists—and without fouling out trying to block every shot or grab every rebound. A lot of guys can get the points, rebounds and assists, but it's the defensive stuff that messes everybody up. You have to love defense to get a quadruple-double. There's no way around it. ”

— Nate Thurmond

 A quadruple-double is defined as a performance in which a player accumulates a double digit number total in four of five statistical categories—points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots—in a game. This feat is extremely rare:only four players have officially recorded a quadruple-double in National Basketball Association (NBA) history. The first American male player above the high school level to officially record a quadruple-double was Nate Thurmond, who achieved this feat in 1974 while playing for the NBA's Chicago Bulls. The first American female player above the high school level to officially record a quadruple-double was Ann Meyers, who achieved this feat in 1978 while playing for the UCLA Bruins. The first male player in NCAA Division I history to record a quadruple-double was Lester Hudson.

Quadruple-doubles have only been possible since the 1973–74 season, when the NBA started recording both blocked shots and steals. It is often speculated by observers that other all-time greats, namely Oscar Robertson (all time triple-doubles leader with 181, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell or Jerry West could conceivably have had quadruple-doubles. According to West's biography at NBA.com, he reportedly recorded a quadruple-double after having 44 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 blocks. Wilt Chamberlain also reportedly recorded a quadruple-double in Game 1 of the 1967 Eastern Division Finals against the Boston Celtics, when he had 24 points, 32 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocks.

Graphics after the jump.

 

Name	Date	Team	Score	Opponent	Minutes played	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Blocks	Overtime	Reference
Nate Thurmond*	October 18, 1974	Chicago Bulls	120–115	Atlanta Hawks	45	22	14	13	0 or 1	12	Yes (OT)	[64]
Alvin Robertson	February 18, 1986	San Antonio Spurs	120–114	Phoenix Suns	36	20	11	10	10	0	No	[65]
Hakeem Olajuwon*	March 29, 1990	Houston Rockets	120–94	Milwaukee Bucks	40	18	16	10	1	11	No	[66]
David Robinson*	February 17, 1994	San Antonio Spurs	115–96	Detroit Pistons	43	34	10	10	2	10	No	[67]

Several others missed that mark by finishing with triple-doubles and a total of 9 in a fourth statistical category (statistical categories in which they fell short are in bold):

Name	Date	Team	Opponent	Minutes played	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Blocks	Overtime	Reference
Rick Barry*	October 29, 1974	Golden State Warriors	Buffalo Braves	43	30	10	11	9	—	No	[68][69]
Larry Steele	November 16, 1974	Portland Trail Blazers	Los Angeles Lakers	44	12	11	9	10	—	No	[70][71]
Johnny Moore	January 8, 1985	San Antonio Spurs	Golden State Warriors	36	26	11	13	9	—	No	[72]
Larry Bird*[a]	February 18, 1985	Boston Celtics	Utah Jazz	33	30	12	10	9	—	No	[73][74]
Micheal Ray Richardson	October 30, 1985	New Jersey Nets	Indiana Pacers	54	38	11	11	9	—	Yes (3 OT)	[75]
Clyde Drexler*	January 10, 1986	Portland Trail Blazers	Milwaukee Bucks	42	26	9	11	10	—	No	[71]
Hakeem Olajuwon*	March 3, 1990	Houston Rockets	Golden State Warriors	40	29	18	9[b]	—	11	No	[76]
Clyde Drexler*	November 1, 1996	Houston Rockets	Sacramento Kings	42	25	10	9	10	—	No	[77]

Notes

^a Bird sat out the entire fourth quarter. After playing the third quarter, head coach K. C. Jones informed Bird that he was one steal away from a quadruple-double and asked if he wanted to stay in the game. Bird declined, saying that he had "already did enough damage.