Blake Griffin will have the most career double-doubles in NBA history

[Orlando Magic]

Karl Malone's number of career games with a double double in points and rebounds is 779 (NBA record).

Blake Griffin joined the NBA at the age of 20. The 2010-2011 season marks his second year in the league. So far, out of a possible 120 games, he has played in 38 of them. He has missed a total of 82 regular season games in 1 and a half years. He currently has 31 regular season double doubles using the criteria of points and rebounds. He is averaging 66.89 double doubles per 82 games played. At this pace, if Blake Griffin plays as many seasons as Malone did (19), he'd end at around 1270 double doubles at the age of 41. He's on pace to break the record during his 13th NBA season. He currently ranks #272 on the all time standings.

Kevin Love joined the NBA at the age of 19. The 2010-2011 season marks his third year in the league. So far, out of a possible 204 games, he has played in 181 of them. He has missed a total of 23 regular season games in two and a half years. He currently has 100 regular season double doubles using the criteria of points and rebounds. He is averaging 45.30 double doubles per 82 games played. At this pace, if Kevin Love plays as many seasons as Malone did (19), he'd end at around 860 double doubles at the age of 39. He's on pace to break the record during his 18th NBA season. He currently ranks #122 on the all time standings.

Dwight Howard joined the NBA at the age of 19. The 2010-2011 season marks his seventh year in the league. So far, out of a possible 529 games, he has played in 526 of them. He has missed a total of 3 regular season games in 6 and a half years. He currently has 377 regular season double doubles using the criteria of points and rebounds. He is averaging 58.77 double doubles per 82 games played. At this pace, if Dwight Howard plays as many seasons as Malone did (19), he'd end at around 1116 double doubles at the age of 39. He's on pace to break the record during his 13th NBA season. He currently ranks #16 on the all time standings.

Considering health, durability, pace, likelihood of slowing down, age, games played, current standings, etc...

I don't think that any reasonable person would argue against Dwight Howard taking that crown at some point during his career and keeping it tight away from anyone else ever touching it. Blake and Kevin have a LOT of work to do in order to catch and surpass Dwight.

This is all assuming that these guys stay healthy for the rest of their careers and play incredibly long ones, which are all highly unlikely.

[The_Yearning]

Dwight is a machine. And plus Orlando is small as hell so you won't have to worry about D12 working too hard to get the rebounds.

[ThaRegul8r]

If I'm not mistaken, Karl Malone holds the record with 779 career double-doubles.

Blake Griffin, already with 31, seems consistent enough to shatter this record(barring any serious injuries of course).

Discuss.

Wilt Chamberlain played in 1045 games..he probably had 1045 double doubles

I find it extremely difficult to believe that Wilt doesn't hold this record, which leads me to believe that they simply didn't count him. Similar to the whole "Kevin Durant and record for consecutive 25+ point games" threads that were being made some time ago.

[TaLvsCuaL]

I think not. His playing style has two disadvantages: the first is that it depends too much on his athleticism, the second is that style of play will eventually cause injury.

[Psileas]

Malone's 779 game "record" only covers the "basketbal-reference era", aka 1987-2011. Without looking it up, Wilt has to be the all-time leader, with about 970 career regular season double-doubles (or very close to this number). Kareem also very likely has more than 779 DD's, since he averaged 11.2 rpg over 1560 games, therefore a number close to 900 games is expected.

[macpierce]

blake griffin is amazing but his game heavily relies on athleticism, injuries and age can take so much away from him
but I leave you with

[EllEffEll]

Karl Malone was one healthy MoFo and Griffin was injured for a year before playing his first regular season game which is not surprising given his penchant for flying high and dragging his junk over the opposition's skulls**.

I hope he stays healthy. I like watching him play. Going to see him live again the next two Saturdays. The last time I went they played the Knicks and we all know what happened that night**

[M.Bustly15A5RU8]

Karl Malone was one healthy MoFo and Griffin was injured for a year before playing his first regular season game which is not surprising given his penchant for flying high and dragging his junk over the opposition's skulls**.

I hope he stays healthy. I like watching him play. Going to see him live again the next two Saturdays. The last time I went they played the Knicks and we all know what happened that night**

where were u sittin?

i wanna see your face on the replay when blake mozgoved Mozgov...

[ShaqAttack3234]

I find it extremely difficult to believe that Wilt doesn't hold this record, which leads me to believe that they simply didn't count him. Similar to the whole "Kevin Durant and record for consecutive 25+ point games" threads that were being made some time ago.

What I often see is that ESPN will say "since the NBA/ABA merger" with these records, or post-merger.

Malone's 779 game "record" only covers the "basketbal-reference era", aka 1987-2011. Without looking it up, Wilt has to be the all-time leader, with about 970 career regular season double-doubles (or very close to this number). Kareem also very likely has more than 779 DD's, since he averaged 11.2 rpg over 1560 games, therefore a number close to 900 games is expected.

How many games could Wilt have had with single digit rebounds? I don't recall ever seeing a box score where he did, and considering he was a 20+ ppg scorer every season until his last two, I'd imagine single digit scoring games were very rare for him as well throughout that whole time. He had more low scoring games starting in the '66-'67 season, but still, not many single digit scoring games that I've seen. Obviously more in '72 when he averaged 14.8 ppg and '73 when he averaged 13.2, but he still racked up double doubles in those seasons.

I have no doubt he had significantly more than 779 double/doubles.

I'd also say that Kareem topped 779, and he probably topped it by a comfortable margin. He averaged a double double in each of his first 12 seasons which accounted for 935 regular season games. Single digit scoring games were rare for most of his career, and while he didn't average more than 8.7 rpg in any of his seasons after that, he still had a significant amount. And he had 20 double doubles in his last 3 seasons, so a lot more than that from '82-'86 and certainly a double double more often than not from '70-'81.

[Psileas]

How many games could Wilt have had with single digit rebounds? I don't recall ever seeing a box score where he did, and considering he was a 20+ ppg scorer every season until his last two, I'd imagine single digit scoring games were very rare for him as well throughout that whole time. He had more low scoring games starting in the '66-'67 season, but still, not many single digit scoring games that I've seen. Obviously more in '72 when he averaged 14.8 ppg and '73 when he averaged 13.2, but he still racked up double doubles in those seasons.

I have no doubt he had significantly more than 779 double/doubles.

I'd also say that Kareem topped 779, and he probably topped it by a comfortable margin. He averaged a double double in each of his first 12 seasons which accounted for 935 regular season games. Single digit scoring games were rare for most of his career, and while he didn't average more than 8.7 rpg in any of his seasons after that, he still had a significant amount. And he had 20 double doubles in his last 3 seasons, so a lot more than that from '82-'86 and certainly a double double more often than not from '70-'81.

Going by memory, from 1960 to '67, Wilt had 3 games at less than 10 points (the first and third due to injury, the second due to being ejected with 3 (!) techincals). I'm almost certain that these were his only games where he didn't get a double-double in his first 8 years. In 1968, I think he had 3 games at 1-9 points (but one was still a DD), in 1970 one, along with a 15/9 game (his first after coming back from his injury, playing only about 25'). In 1969 came his first "real" single/single game (less than 10 points and rebounds in a game when he played normal minutes).
Of course, the vast majority of his non-DD games (maybe 50 or so) came in 1972 and 73, due to low scoring.

[jlauber]

What I often see is that ESPN will say "since the NBA/ABA merger" with these records, or post-merger.



How many games could Wilt have had with single digit rebounds? I don't recall ever seeing a box score where he did, and considering he was a 20+ ppg scorer every season until his last two, I'd imagine single digit scoring games were very rare for him as well throughout that whole time. He had more low scoring games starting in the '66-'67 season, but still, not many single digit scoring games that I've seen. Obviously more in '72 when he averaged 14.8 ppg and '73 when he averaged 13.2, but he still racked up double doubles in those seasons.

I have no doubt he had significantly more than 779 double/doubles.

I'd also say that Kareem topped 779, and he probably topped it by a comfortable margin. He averaged a double double in each of his first 12 seasons which accounted for 935 regular season games. Single digit scoring games were rare for most of his career, and while he didn't average more than 8.7 rpg in any of his seasons after that, he still had a significant amount. And he had 20 double doubles in his last 3 seasons, so a lot more than that from '82-'86 and certainly a double double more often than not from '70-'81.

Great post.

In any case, I really don't think a double-double is overly exciting...even in today's game. It kind of reminds me of the 1000 yard rusher in the NFL. Play 16 games, and rush for a little over 60 yards in each, and you have a 1000 yard rusher.

To me, a double-double is basically "dumbing down" our take on stats. What's next... keeping track of SINGLE doubles?

Now, Kevin Loves' 30-30 game WAS/IS a sensational game...particularly in this era. It has been a rare accomplishment, even going back to the Wilt-era (a rare accomplishment for everyone but Wilt anyway.)

[EllEffEll]

where were u sittin?

i wanna see your face on the replay when blake mozgoved Mozgov...

I was in a suite that night. The whole place went nuts when Mozgov got Mozgov'd.

I'll be in regular pretty decent seats (I think) for GS and Charlotte, but my face may be better suited for radio

I did get my mug on TV once at a Laker playoff game for yakkin' on a cell phone before the game started. I was actually calling a friend that was also at the game and looked up to see a camera in my face with the red light on. The next day several people said they saw me on TV

[ShaqAttack3234]

Great post.

In any case, I really don't think a double-double is overly exciting...even in today's game. It kind of reminds me of the 1000 yard rusher in the NFL. Play 16 games, and rush for a little over 60 yards in each, and you have a 1000 yard rusher.

To me, a double-double is basically "dumbing down" our take on stats. What's next... keeping track of SINGLE doubles?

Now, Kevin Loves' 30-30 game WAS/IS a sensational game...particularly in this era. It has been a rare accomplishment, even going back to the Wilt-era (a rare accomplishment for everyone but Wilt anyway.)

Well, in terms of what I find exciting, it's not just a statistical achievement alone. And Kevin Love is a perfect example.

Love is averaging 21/16, which is phenomenal for this era, except, his numbers to me are pretty empty. His numbers would suggest he's a franchise player, but he's not even close to that level. I'd take Dwight who averages 22/13 over Love without hesitating, and the same goes for last year's version of Dwight who "only" averaged 18/13. Hell, I wouldn't hesitate to take a past his prime 2006 Shaq who put up "only" 20/9 over Love, I'd also take the older version of Kareem that was "only" averaging 21-22 ppg and 7-8 rpg, or the version of Duncan that was "only" averaging 18-20 ppg and 10-11 rpg. I'd take them all over Love and I wouldn't think twice.

So to me, Love's numbers aren't something I get excited about at all. And it's nothing against Love, he's actually one of the few college players I followed in recent years. But if anything his numbers are disappointing to me because you see these statistical accomplishments and the impact falls well short. He's not a bad player by any stretch, but he's putting up Moses Malone numbers that don't have a fraction of Malone's impact.

[jlauber]

Well, in terms of what I find exciting, it's not just a statistical achievement alone. And Kevin Love is a perfect example.

Love is averaging 21/16, which is phenomenal for this era, except, his numbers to me are pretty empty. His numbers would suggest he's a franchise player, but he's not even close to that level. I'd take Dwight who averages 22/13 over Love without hesitating, and the same goes for last year's version of Dwight who "only" averaged 18/13. Hell, I wouldn't hesitate to take a past his prime 2006 Shaq who put up "only" 20/9 over Love, I'd also take the older version of Kareem that was "only" averaging 21-22 ppg and 7-8 rpg, or the version of Duncan that was "only" averaging 18-20 ppg and 10-11 rpg. I'd take them all over Love and I wouldn't think twice.

So to me, Love's numbers aren't something I get excited about at all. And it's nothing against Love, he's actually one of the few college players I followed in recent years. But if anything his numbers are disappointing to me because you see these statistical accomplishments and the impact falls well short. He's not a bad player by any stretch, but he's putting up Moses Malone numbers that don't have a fraction of Malone's impact.

Oh, I agree with almost all of this. I would only argue that Love's teammates are just so bad, that even his huge games are not enough. But, overall I agree. Howard is CLEARLY a better player...and yes, older Shaq, Kareem, or Duncan are preferable, as well. In fact, I might even take a CURRENT Duncan over Love.

BTW, and off topic, but Shaq is quietly having a much better than anticipated season this year. His productivity, in around 20 mpg, has been exceptional (and he was even seen BLOCKING shots last night.)

I said it before the season started, but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see Shaq and Duncan in the Finals...and vying for a fifth ring.

[ShaqAttack3234]

Oh, I agree with almost all of this. I would only argue that Love's teammates are just so bad, that even his huge games are not enough. But, overall I agree. Howard is CLEARLY a better player...and yes, older Shaq, Kareem, or Duncan are preferable, as well. In fact, I might even take a CURRENT Duncan over Love.

BTW, and off topic, but Shaq is quietly having a much better than anticipated season this year. His productivity, in around 20 mpg, has been exceptional (and he was even seen BLOCKING shots last night.)

I said it before the season started, but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see Shaq and Duncan in the Finals...and vying for a fifth ring.

Well, the one thing I'm surprised at, is that Shaq is shooting 68% from the field. Other than that, I'm not really surprised. I was much more surprised two years ago when he averaged 18/8 on 61% shooting in 30 mpg with Phoenix and had monster games like 45/11 on 20/25 shooting, 35/8/3 on 14/19 shooting, 33/7/3 on 13/18 shooting in a win vs the Lakers and 29/13/6 on 10/15 shooting.

Even last year, as a role player, he played pretty well vs Boston and actually led Cleveland in scoring 1 game in that series, and prior to his injury, he was really rounding into form. In his last 14 games before his injury(yes I know it's an arbitrary number), he averaged 15.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg and 1.5 bpg on 65.1% shooting in 26.1 mpg.

In fact, he had scored in double figures in 26 of his last 28 games before his injury despite playing 30+ minutes in only 5 of those games and he scored 20 in each of the last 2 games.

This year, I think he's been very effective because he's much more of a finisher than a guy who is relied on to score with post moves, which is a better role for him due to how much he's declined physically. He also benefits from playing with a great playmaking point guard, underrated passers like Pierce and Allen as well as Garnett who is another excellent passer and a mid-range/perimeter player offensively who gives Shaq more room in the post.

I said before the season that Shaq was a much better option at center than Jermaine O'Neal. These stats haven't been updated in the last game or 2, but the Celtics outscore their opponents by 14.1 points with Shaq on the floor, while they're outscored by 0.2 points with Jermaine on the floor.