The quadruple - double is one of basketball ’s most problematic feats . Only four players have manage to extort up two-fold - digit sum in four major statistical categories ( points , recoil , assists , steals , blockage ) in a individual game since the NBA set about tracking steals and blockade shots at the beginning of the 1973 - 74 . Nate Thurmond , Alvin Robertson , Hakeem Olajuwon , and David Robinson all have one quartet - double to their figure .
The NBA very in short had a fifth quartette - double in its platter books , though . On March 3 , 1990 , Olajuwon of the Houston Rockets absolutely dissect the hapless Golden State warrior en route to a 129 - 109 shoo-in . Olajuwon end the secret plan with a monstrous triple - double stat line : 29 points , 18 rebounds , and 11 blocks .
The Dream had come achingly close to a bigger milestone . He stop the game with nine assists , meaning he was only one slender dime away from lay up what would have been the third quartet - twice in conference history . Houston ’s start five for the biz included such luminaries as Mitchell Wiggins and the immortal Buck Johnson ; if just one more of the passes they received from the Hall of Fame big man had twist into a bucket , he would have had his quadruple - double .
It ’s not clear whether Olajuwon knew or even cared how close he ’d amount to the arbitrary milepost , but Rockets train Don Chaney and team medium - relation music director Jay Goldberg sure did .
The pair review the game magnetic tape at once after the last buzzer and “ found ” what seemed to be an uncredited assist for Olajuwon in the first twenty-five percent . The team quickly write out a revise box score that credited Olajuwon for 29 pointedness , 18 rebounds , 10 assistance , and 11 blocks . Bingo ! Quadruple - double achieved !
Recount
The NBA gives its actuary a flake of latitude when it comes to determining what on the button counts as an help thanks to the inherently subjective nature of the stat . Having squad officials look back game taping and revise box scores goes well beyond “ parallel ” and right into “ shenanigan ” territory , though . When the conference caught twist of the rescript , director of performance Rod Thorn ask if he could take his own peep at the tape .
That ’s where the quadruple - twice got a small less quad - y. Three day later , Thorn announced his findings . On further recap , Olajuwon did n’t deserve 10 assists , and the original boxful score that give him credit for nine dime would rest the official record of the game . Thorn did n’t guess much of the Rockets ’ mischief ; he publicly said , “ A box grade should not be change after the fact for the intent of achieving a statistical milestone . ”
accord to Thorn , if the box seat score had been erroneous , find and define the problem was the conference ’s prerogative . Thorn opted against fine the Rockets for their box score manipulation . ( He could scarcely find fault Chaney and Goldberg for seem for a promising spot in an otherwise mediocre time of year that would see Houston post a 41 - 41 record . ) Chaney ’s chemical reaction : “ What they guess is an aid and what we consider is an assist must be two different things . ”
It Wasn’t That Close
The really funny matter , though , is that Thorn was being charitable just by letting Olajuwon keep the nine assistance he had invite quotation for on the undoctored score sheet . According to the history Knight - Ridder run over the fuss , a source at the league office claimed that Thorn and the league might have lease Olajuwon keep that phantom tenth assist if the other nine had been legit . The source said that Olajuwon had already received some awfully generous hometown scoring in the original box scotch ; the conference thought he had only really earned six or seven assists .
This unmated footer did n’t prove to be much of a setback for Olajuwon . Just three weeks later he dropped a legitimate quadruplet - double with 18 point , 16 rebound , 10 assist , and 11 blocks in a 120 - 94 Rockets win over the Milwaukee Bucks .
