<Ul> <Li> Longest continuous streak of double - doubles: According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Wilt Chamberlain holds the record with 227 consecutive double - doubles from 1964 to 1967 . Chamberlain also holds the second - and third - longest continuous streaks of double - doubles with 220 and 133 . This record is before the ABA--NBA merger in 1976 . The longest streak of double - doubles since the merger was 53 games, achieved by Kevin Love, then of the Minnesota Timberwolves . </Li> </Ul> <Li> Longest continuous streak of double - doubles: According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Wilt Chamberlain holds the record with 227 consecutive double - doubles from 1964 to 1967 . Chamberlain also holds the second - and third - longest continuous streaks of double - doubles with 220 and 133 . This record is before the ABA--NBA merger in 1976 . The longest streak of double - doubles since the merger was 53 games, achieved by Kevin Love, then of the Minnesota Timberwolves . </Li> <P> A triple - double is defined as a performance in which a player accumulates a double digit number total in three of five statistical categories--points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots--in a game . The most common way for a player to achieve a triple - double is with points, rebounds, and assists, though on occasion players may record 10 or more steals or blocked shots in a game . The origin of the term "triple - double" is unclear . Some sources claim that it was coined by former Los Angeles Lakers public relations director Bruce Jolesch in the 1980s in order to showcase Magic Johnson's versatility, while others claim that it was coined by then Philadelphia 76ers media relations director Harvey Pollack in 1980 . The triple - double became an officially recorded statistic during the 1979--80 season . </P> <P> There has been occasional controversy surrounding triple - doubles made when a player achieves the feat with a late rebound . Players with nine rebounds in a game have sometimes been accused of deliberately missing a shot late in the game in order to recover the rebound; a few have even gone so far as shooting off their opponent's basket trying to score a triple - double . To deter this, NBA rules allow rebounds to be nullified if the shot is determined not to be a legitimate scoring attempt . </P>

When did the nba start recording triple doubles