# Please, could I get a quick lesson in basketball? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 26, 2016, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-i-get-a-quick-lesson-in-basketball/750191 "2016-03-26T02:22:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MizQuirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/94ad74/32.png) [@MizQuirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizQuirk)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-i-get-a-quick-lesson-in-basketball/750191/1 "2016-03-26T02:22:29Z")
I’m a recent fan but haven’t caught on to what they’re talking about on TV with the double triples, triple doubles, etc. I’m easily confused by the facts these days, so as simple a notion as possible would be great. Also, is it possible no two players on different teams have the same uniform number (Steph Curry’s 30, for example – does anyone else in that league wear number 30?) Seems it would be hard not to have duplicates, but . . . ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-i-get-a-quick-lesson-in-basketball/750191/2 "2016-03-26T02:39:18Z")
There are several major stats that are counted: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. If a player makes 10 or more of any, i.e. double digits, that’s called a double. If a double is made in any two, that’s a double-double; in any three a triple-double; in any four a quadruple-double; in all five a quintuple-double. That has only happened twice, both in high school ball. Wikipedia, of course, has a ridiculously [detailed article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_%28basketball%29). Players on both teams may wind up with the same number. However, the uniforms are color-coded (both home and away colors) so no confusion is likely. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-i-get-a-quick-lesson-in-basketball/750191/3 "2016-03-26T02:41:08Z")
A double-double occurs when a player has double digits in two statistics in a game (points, assists, rebounds, blocks, etc). A triple double means double digits in three categories, and is quite rare. Players on different teams can have the same number. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-i-get-a-quick-lesson-in-basketball/750191/4 "2016-03-26T03:04:27Z")
You might want to start by asking a mod to move this to the Game Room, where sports questions are usually better answered. > [@](#): > > Also, is it possible no two players on different teams have the same uniform number (Steph Curry’s 30, for example – does anyone else in that league wear number 30?) Seems it would be hard not to have duplicates, but . . . As always, the internet has lists you’d never think would (or should) exist: > **[2015-16 NBA Uniform Numbers | Basketball-Reference.com](https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2016_numbers.html)** > > Checkout the Uniform Numbers for the 2015-16 NBA Season and more on Basketball-Reference.com ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-i-get-a-quick-lesson-in-basketball/750191/5 "2016-03-26T03:16:52Z")
Moving to Game Room. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-i-get-a-quick-lesson-in-basketball/750191/6 "2016-03-26T04:08:37Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > There are several major stats that are counted: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. If a player makes 10 or more of any, i.e. double digits, that’s called a double. If a double is made in any two, that’s a double-double; in any three a triple-double; in any four a quadruple-double; in all five a quintuple-double. That has only happened twice, both in high school ball. Wikipedia, of course, has a ridiculously [detailed article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_%28basketball%29). > > Players on both teams may wind up with the same number. However, the uniforms are color-coded (both home and away colors) so no confusion is likely. What a fantastically interesting article. I know my fair share of basketball but have never heard of a five-by-five before and the stats on the quadruple-doubles and more es even more interesting ---
**Author:** ![MizQuirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/94ad74/32.png) [@MizQuirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizQuirk)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-i-get-a-quick-lesson-in-basketball/750191/7 "2016-03-26T12:51:13Z")
Many thanks for the responses and to the moderator for moving this discussion to its proper place on the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-i-get-a-quick-lesson-in-basketball/750191/8 "2016-03-26T13:22:50Z")
And a “double triple” would presumably be triple-digit numbers in two different statistics, but so far as I know, triple-digit numbers in even one statistic have only happened once in the professional history of the sport. As for the numbers, I think I read once that there used to be a rule that each player had two numbers, one for home games and one for away, and that the home team always wore evens and the away team odds (or vice-versa). Even if that ever was the rule, though, it’s not any more. Of course, with only a total of ten players in the playing area at a time, all of them being fairly close, and none of them wearing any sort of headgear, it’s pretty easy to tell basketball players apart anyway, so numbers aren’t as necessary as they are in football or baseball. ---
**Author:** ![MizQuirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/94ad74/32.png) [@MizQuirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizQuirk)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-i-get-a-quick-lesson-in-basketball/750191/9 "2016-03-26T13:38:57Z")
My gosh – what an interesting read this is! Whomever is charged with gathering all the statistics must have one heck of a computer program for help, and what a huge job it was before computers. One little thing is still niggling at me: what exactly is an assist? Surely it’s more distinguished than just being the last person to pass to the shooter who makes the basket . . . ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-i-get-a-quick-lesson-in-basketball/750191/10 "2016-03-26T14:10:52Z")
> [@MizQuirk](#): > > My gosh – what an interesting read this is! Whomever is charged with gathering all the statistics must have one heck of a computer program for help, and what a huge job it was before computers. One little thing is still niggling at me: what exactly is an assist? Surely it’s more distinguished than just being the last person to pass to the shooter who makes the basket . . . Nope, that’s pretty much it. And don’t cal me Shirley ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-i-get-a-quick-lesson-in-basketball/750191/11 "2016-03-26T14:53:28Z")
> [@MizQuirk](#): > > One little thing is still niggling at me: what exactly is an assist? Surely it’s more distinguished than just being the last person to pass to the shooter who makes the basket . . . [The NBA’s Most Misleading Number](http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123855027541776617) > [@](#): > > The NBA statistician’s manual says an assist should be “credited to a player tossing the last pass leading directly to a field goal, only if the player scoring the goal responds by demonstrating immediate reaction to the basket.” But as the article explains, a lot of subjectivity goes into that determination. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-i-get-a-quick-lesson-in-basketball/750191/12 "2016-03-26T19:40:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > As for the numbers, I think I read once that there used to be a rule that each player had two numbers, one for home games and one for away, and that the home team always wore evens and the away team odds (or vice-versa). Even if that ever was the rule, though, it’s not any more. This might still be a rule in some states in high school (especially girls’ basketball) for some reason. > [@MizQuirk](#): > > Also, is it possible no two players on different teams have the same uniform number (Steph Curry’s 30, for example – does anyone else in that league wear number 30?) Seems it would be hard not to have duplicates, but . . . Not only that, but at international level (e.g. the Olympics), only 12 numbers are allowed to be used - 4 through 15 - so if both teams have 12 players, then every number will be used by both teams. In USA college and high school, only numbers with digits 0 through 5 can be used, and you can’t have a 2-digit number starting with 0 (this includes 00 - this is because electronic statistics-keeping devices can’t tell the difference between, for example, 5 and 05), so there are only 36 different numbers available. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-i-get-a-quick-lesson-in-basketball/750191/13 "2016-03-26T22:10:05Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > This might still be a rule in some states in high school (especially girls’ basketball) for some reason. > > In USA college and high school, only numbers with digits 0 through 5 can be used, and you can’t have a 2-digit number starting with 0 (this includes 00 - this is because electronic statistics-keeping devices can’t tell the difference between, for example, 5 and 05), so there are only 36 different numbers available. When I was in high school, Ohio in the 60s, our home and away uniforms had odd and even or even and odd numbers, but I don’t know it was a rule. I recall this because I scored the games and just remembered each players two numbers. It was easier to recognize them than to read the numbers. The two scorers, one from each team, would say the scorers name to each other so you didn’t have to search for the nuber on teh list. And only 33 numbers were available 3-5 and x0-x5 for x = 1 to 5. 1 and 2 were reserved as the ref would signal 1 or 2 points when a shot was made. (Why I have no idea as all baskets were 2 in those days and all free-trows 1. Perhaps it was because they’d also signal 1 or 2 as the number of foul shots to be taken. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-i-get-a-quick-lesson-in-basketball/750191/14 "2016-03-26T22:16:38Z")
I think the OP, whe s/he said double triple, either misspoke or meant double dribble, which is a violation and a turnover. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-i-get-a-quick-lesson-in-basketball/750191/15 "2016-03-26T22:54:53Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > When I was in high school, Ohio in the 60s, our home and away uniforms had odd and even or even and odd numbers, but I don’t know it was a rule. I recall this because I scored the games and just remembered each players two numbers. It was easier to recognize them than to read the numbers. The two scorers, one from each team, would say the scorers name to each other so you didn’t have to search for the nuber on teh list. > > And only 33 numbers were available 3-5 and x0-x5 for x = 1 to 5. 1 and 2 were reserved as the ref would signal 1 or 2 points when a shot was made. (Why I have no idea as all baskets were 2 in those days and all free-trows 1. Perhaps it was because they’d also signal 1 or 2 as the number of foul shots to be taken. 1 and 2 were not allowed until 2001. As you suggest, it had to do with not getting the player number confused with the number of foul shots. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-i-get-a-quick-lesson-in-basketball/750191/16 "2016-03-26T23:01:36Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > I think the OP, whe s/he said double triple, either misspoke or meant double dribble, which is a violation and a turnover. Is double dribble or traveling even called anymore? I don’t follow basketball all that much, but I’ve seen clips people like to show, and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen all sorts of violations in dribbling. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-i-get-a-quick-lesson-in-basketball/750191/17 "2016-03-27T02:17:03Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > I think the OP, whe s/he said double triple, either misspoke or meant double dribble, which is a violation and a turnover. Since she’s posted twice since the OP and gave no indication of misspeaking or being misunderstood, I’m assuming that she wasn’t either. ---
**Author:** ![MizQuirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/94ad74/32.png) [@MizQuirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizQuirk)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-i-get-a-quick-lesson-in-basketball/750191/18 "2016-03-27T02:54:32Z")
[quote=“Chronos, post:8, topic:750191”] And a “double triple” would presumably be triple-digit numbers in two different statistics, but so far as I know, triple-digit numbers in even one statistic have only happened once in the professional history of the sport. No, I meant “double triple,” if there is such a thing. The categories we’re discussing seem to be positive things that help the team, while “double dribble” and “steps” are negatives. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-i-get-a-quick-lesson-in-basketball/750191/19 "2016-03-27T04:48:07Z")
Never heard of a double triple. What is that? Triple double, yes, but what is a double triple? ---
**Author:** ![MizQuirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/94ad74/32.png) [@MizQuirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizQuirk)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-i-get-a-quick-lesson-in-basketball/750191/20 "2016-03-27T22:53:10Z")
Covered in message #8 by **Chronos**. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-i-get-a-quick-lesson-in-basketball/750191.md?page=2)