All Quadruple Doubles in NBA History – Who Reached It?

Nowadays it seems that hardly a night passes in the NBA without some player achieving a triple-double, a feat that was considered an extreme accomplishment only a decade ago.

However, the one feat that even modern NBA players are having difficulty achieving, is the quadruple-double.

To achieve a quadruple-double, a player must have double digits in four out of the five main statistical categories: points, rebounds, assist, blocks, or steals.

The last NBA player to have a quadruple-double was David “The General” Robinson back in 1994, when he joined Nate Thurmond, Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon (2), and Alvin Robinson as the only players to have a quadruple-double in an NBA game.

Below we break down each of these four quadruple doubles.

1. Nate Thurmond

Stats: 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists, 12 blocks
Date: Oct. 18, 1974
Opponent: Atlanta Hawks

Nathaniel “Nate The Great” Thurmond played in the NBA for 14 years, most of which he spent with the Golden State Warriors.

One of the greatest moments of his career happened in 1974 when he recorded the first quadruple-double in NBA history.

Thurmond achieved this extraordinary feat in the Chicago Bulls jersey on October 18, 1974, versus the Atlanta Hawks.

The game between the Bulls and the Hawks went to overtime and when it was all said and done the 7-time All-Star had 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists, and 12 blocks to his name.

In 1986, Thurmond was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and was named among the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1997 and among the NBA 75^th Anniversary Team.

For his accomplishments in the team, both the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers retired his #42 jersey.

2. Alvin Robertson

Stats: 20 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 steals
Date: Feb. 18, 1986
Opponent: Phoenix Suns

The second quadruple-double ever in the NBA was recorded by Alvin Robertson. Robertson played in the NBA for a total of 11 years.

During this time he managed to accomplish some extraordinary records, including the most steals per game as well as over 300 steals in a single season.

On February 18, 1986, the San Antonio Spurs played against the Phoenix Suns.

Robertson made history becoming only the second player ever to record a quadruple-double in the NBA.

He finished the game with 20 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 steals, also becoming the only guard in history to achieve a quadruple-double and the only player ever to achieve a quadruple-double with steals.

Unfortunately for Robertson, in addition to being the only guard on this list, he is also the only player on this list who has not been inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Apart from his quadruple-double, he managed to leave a trace in the NBA, being selected into four All-Star Games and named into six All-NBA Defensive Teams.

3. Hakeem Olajuwon

Stats: 18 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists, 11 blocks
Date: March 29, 1990
Opponent: Milwaukee Bucks

Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon is considered one of the best NBA centers of all time. He played in the NBA from 1984 to 2002.

“The Dream” spent his whole career with the Houston Rockets except his last season in which he played for the Toronto Raptors.

The interesting thing about Olajuwon is that he recorded his first quadruple-double on March 3, 1990, against the Golden State Warriors.

He finished the game with 29 points, 18 rebounds, 10 assists, and 11 blocks.

However, the NBA intervened after suspecting the Rockets staff of stat-padding and removed one of his assists from the score sheet, and Hakeem fell one assist short of a quadruple-double.

For most players, this would be the end of the quadruple dream, but not for Olajuwon. Only 26 days later he stuffed the sheets one more time, and this time the NBA had no complaints.

The Dream finished the game against the Milwaukee Bucks with 18 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists, and 11 blocks becoming only the third player in NBA history to record a quadruple-double.

Olajuwon won two NBA championships with the Houston Rockets, in 1994 and 1995, and he is the only player to become the MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP in the same season.

For these achievements and his contribution to the game of basketball, he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.

4. David Robinson

Stats: 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 blocks
Date: Feb. 17, 1994
Opponent: Detroit Pistons

Finally, the last name on our list of players with a quadruple-double in the NBA is David “The Admiral” Robinson. Robinson played in the NBA for 14 years, all of which he spent with the San Antonio Spurs.

The David Robinson quadruple double came on February 17th, 1994 in a victory against the Detroit Pistons.

The Admiral filled the stat sheet with 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 blocks, becoming the fourth player in history with a quadruple-double as well as the only NBA player to achieve a quadruple-double while scoring more than 30 points.

During his time with the team, Robinson became the face of the Spurs franchise and collected dozens of individual awards along the way.

He was NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 1995, NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year in 1992, a 10-time All-Star, was named into eight All NBA Teams and eight All NBA Defensive Teams, and won two NBA championships.

He is widely considered one of the best NBA centers to ever pick up a basketball and was named to both the NBA 50^th Anniversary (1996) and 75th Anniversary Teams (2021).

The Admiral was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame two times, in 2008 for his individual basketball career, and a year later as a member of the 1992 US Olympic Dream Team.