NBA Stat Central #20: Just A Quickie
On this week’s NBA Stat Central…we’re going to take a look at how few minutes it’s taken to record different statistical milestones. This was inspired by Kevin Durant‘s triple-double on Feb. 27 against the New Orleans Hornets in just less than 27 minutes of action.
How does that performance match up against the quickest triple-doubles of the last 30 years? We’ll take a look at that and much more.
NBA Stat Central is a weekly column here at HoopsHabit.com where we delve deeper into the world of NBA statistics. We’re here every Friday with a new theme so make sure to check us out each week.
All stats are from the 1985-86 season to today and have been taken from basketball-reference.com, unless otherwise noted.
Fastest Triple-Double
Fat Lever was a big part of the uptempo Denver Nuggets. Photo Credit: Hoopedia.com
Fat Lever, 25 minutes
| Player | Date | Tm | Opp | MP ▴ | FG | FGA | FG% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fat Lever | 1987-11-06 | DEN | LAC | 25 | 5 | 13 | .385 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 11 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/1/2013.
Not a bad little game. It didn’t hurt that the Nuggets ran one of the most uptempo offenses in NBA history. They won this game 139-93 and finished the season with a league-leading pace of 105.5 possessions per-48 minutes. The leader for the 2012-13 season in pace is the Houston Rockets with just 96.3 possessions per-48 minutes.
Fastest To 20 Shots
Mark Aguirre was one of the bad boys in Detroit. Photo Credit: Wikipedia.com
Mark Aguirre, 23 minutes
| Player | Date | Tm | Opp | MP ▴ | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Aguirre | 1987-01-29 | DAL | DEN | 23 | 14 | 20 | .700 | 2 | 2 | 1.000 | 6 | 6 | 1.000 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/1/2013.
It’s not surprising that the 1987 Denver Nuggets make another appearance on our list, but this time we’ve got an opponent. What a game this was for Aguirre. He scored 36 points with no turnovers and no fouls in just 23 minutes of play. Most importantly, the Dallas Mavericks beat the Nuggets 132-102.
Fastest To Foul Out
Bubba Wells, three minutes
| Player | Date | Tm | Opp | MP ▴ | FG | FGA | FG% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bubba Wells | 1997-12-29 | DAL | CHI | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/1/2013.
Charles “Bubba” Wells didn’t have a great career. In fact, he didn’t play a single minute after his rookie season. He was a part of the Steve Nash trade between Dallas and Phoenix and he was also a part of the Luc Longley deal between Phoenix and Chicago. He did have a great college career, scoring 31.7 points per game with 7.1 rebounds in his senior season at Austin Peay.
Fastest to 20 Points
James Robinson and Henry James, 10 minutes
| Player | Date | Tm | Opp | MP ▴ | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Robinson | 1996-12-30 | MIN | CLE | 10 | 7 | 9 | .778 | 6 | 7 | .857 | 3 | 3 | 1.000 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 23 |
| Henry James | 1997-04-15 | ATL | NJN | 10 | 7 | 10 | .700 | 7 | 9 | .778 | 3 | 3 | 1.000 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 24 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/1/2013.
23 and 24 points scored in just 10 minutes? Can you say heat check? These guys were jacking up 3s (and making them) like they were going out of style. How fun was the mid-’90s for basketball enthusiasts that love the uptempo game?
Fastest Double-Double
David Robinson, 12 minutes
| Player | Date | Tm | Opp | MP ▴ | FG | FGA | FG% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Robinson | 2002-02-21 | SAS | SAC | 12 | 5 | 6 | .833 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 10 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/1/2013.
Mr. Robinson was tremendous at a number of different things. He lit up the scoreboard nightly and could be considered one of the most athletic centers of all-time. We could go on and on about Robinson, but we need an honorable mention for this category.
Manute Bol speaks at a fundraiser to raise awareness in Darfur. Photo Credit: United to End Genocide, Flickr.com
Manute Bol, 15 minutes
| Player | Date | Tm | Opp | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manute Bol | 1988-01-22 | WSB | GSW | 15 | 3 | 5 | .600 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/1/2013.
Younger fans won’t remember Bol, but this stat line should give you a glimpse into what he was all about. He was 7’7″ and weighed in at 200 pounds. He couldn’t shoot, was remarkably soft and “court vision” was a foreign term to him. However, he could block shots with the best of them. In his rookie season, he led the NBA with 397 blocks (5.0 per game) and would finish his career with 6.4 blocks per-36 minutes. He ended his career No. 15 in NBA history in career blocks (2,086) and No. 2 in blocks per game (3.3), despite playing just 11,698 minutes.