Wilt Chamberlain thought triple-doubles weren’t worth it. “Mediocracy is displayed with triple-doubles”
Wilt Chamberlain discusses the overappreciation of triple-doubles.
As we’ve discussed before, triple-doubles are crucial to modern basketball and NBA superstar Larry Bird believed they were overvalued for a variety of reasons. It appears that the late great Wilt Chamberlain, another NBA star, shared a similar view regarding triple-doubles, believing that they essentially trick the spectators into believing they are something remarkable.
Over the past several years, we’ve seen NBA players nearly every night get triple-doubles, and it appears the game has advanced to the point where it’s now feasible to do it on a far bigger scale than it was in the past. Many people immediately associate a triple-double with a dominant performance, and for good reason, however some individuals are aware that some triple-doubles are actually overblown and have no bearing on the game.
The late great Wilt Chamberlain, who still owns a ton of NBA records and averaged a triple-double nearly every other game, stated in an old interview that he believed the league was misleading the public with the idea. He even went so far as to call it mediocrity.
Because they would give you things like triple-doubles, mediocracy is evident. Whoa, this guy scored a triple-double, giving the impression that he accomplished something amazing. If Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, and Elgin Baylor had any triple-doubles, they would have believed they were having the worst day ever (or game ever). Thus, they would lead you to believe that the triple-double is something amazing.”
Wilt is undoubtedly correct when he points out that triple-doubles are nothing new in the NBA and that the public’s perception of them was far different in the past. Even though in recent years we’ve witnessed spectacular triple-doubles that didn’t help the team win the ball game—which is practically the whole goal of sport—players these days earn more acclaim when they complete a game with a triple-double. An outstanding individual effort must be acknowledged, but only to the extent that it benefits the team as a whole.
