Assists take Center Stage in the WNBA’s Triple-Double Revolution
Assists take Center Stage in the WNBA’s Triple-Double Revolution
Nearly two-thirds of the league’s triple-doubles have happened in the last two seasons.
Want to test your knowledge of WNBA players past and present? Check out the newest game from Her Hoop Stats, WNBA Grids! A new grid drops each day at 4:59 a.m. Eastern.
Haven’t subscribed to the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter yet?
If last season was the year of the triple-double, this season proves it’s more than just a passing fad. The league’s 10 triple-doubles this season have already exceeded last year’s total (including playoff triple-doubles), and the two-year total of 19 is nearly two-thirds of the league’s total of 30. This year has also seen three players—Courtney Williams, Satou Sabally, and Natasha Howard—break through for their first-ever triple-doubles, more than any previous year.
Activated by Assists
Many factors have driven the increase in triple-doubles league-wide, but one stands out: assists.
Throughout the WNBA’s existence, assists have been the missing piece to triple-doubles. Double-doubles have been relatively common across the league’s history, but just three of the 69 double-doubles (4.3%) in the W’s inaugural season, 1997, were from points and assists. That gap has begun to close over the intervening two decades, and approximately 1 in 6 double-doubles this season have been points and assists.
It’s not hard to reason why points/assists double-doubles are hard to come by: assists rely on the passer and the player receiving the pass to do their job. Rebounds are more of a solo activity, and players can record multiple rebounds on a single possession.
Of all the instances when a player has missed a triple-double by one stat, assists are the biggest culprit —10+ points/10+ rebounds/9-assist games account for 14 near-misses instead of just eight with a missing rebound. It’s so common that the stat line was dubbed a ‘Parker’ for the seven times Candace Parker has found herself an assist shy.
But now, players are getting over the line more often than ever. That’s in no small part due to the league-wide increase in assists. So far in 2023, teams are averaging 19.9 assists per game, second only to 2022’s record-setting 20.2 assists.
Pace and Precision Pay Off
There are several reasons for that increase. First, the WNBA’s pace of play, or the number of possessions each team uses per 40 minutes, has steadily grown over the past two decades. Teams are currently averaging a record-high 82.5 possessions per game, giving players more chances to take (and assist) shots than ever before.
Players have also cashed in on those increased opportunities with shots more likely to be assisted: 3-pointers. As the league-wide pace has increased, teams have switched out their 2-point shots for threes. The number of 2-point attempts in the league has steadily decreased from a record-high 52.3 per game in 2014 to just 46.2 today. At the same time, the number of 3-point attempts has risen, with teams currently averaging more than 22 shots from beyond the arc each game.
Players are also shooting more efficiently, as the league’s points per scoring attempt have jumped from just .99 at the league’s inception to 1.08 today. As fewer passes are being wasted by missed layups and airballs, it only follows that the assists per game would grow in turn.
There are also a greater number of versatile players than ever before. There have always been multi-skilled players in the league, but they’re no longer the statistical anomalies they once were. Since the 2020 season, eight separate players have finished at least one season averaging 10+ points/4+ rebounds/4+ assists, more than any other four-year window in league history. While triple-doubles are still a rarity, more players than ever have a higher baseline to build on.
The Alyssa Thomas X-Factor
There’s also, of course, the Alyssa Thomas effect. While triple-doubles are on the rise league-wide, Thomas has all but exploded. Her nine career triple-doubles are a WNBA record, and earlier this month, she recorded the first ever 20+ point/20+ rebound/10+ assist scoreline in league history. And, given the overall league trends, her path to the record looks a little bit different than one may think.
Thomas’s Connecticut Sun hasn’t abided by many of the trends driving triple-doubles across the W. They play relatively slowly, with just 81.9 possessions per game. They’ve also lagged behind the rest of the league from beyond the arc, taking a league-low 25% of their shot attempts from deep. Nevertheless, Thomas continues to live up to her nickname as the Sun’s ‘engine.’ Her 36.6 minutes per game is on track for 11th all-time, giving her many opportunities to run up the stats sheet.
The factors behind her triple-double explosion are part skill and part necessity. The Sun have had some of the most brutal injury luck in the league. They’ve missed a key player every year in each of the past four years, including Thomas herself in 2021. But wherever possible, Thomas has stepped up to stem the bleeding.
After point guard Jasmine Thomas tore her ACL to start the 2022 season, Thomas leaned into her new role as passer and playmaker. She notched a career-high in assists per game, 6.1, guiding her team to a WNBA finals berth and the third-most assists per game in the league. She’s only improved this season, with 8.1 assists per game. That’s almost triple the average number of assists as anyone else on the roster.
This year, the Sun had to deal with Jonquel Jones’ departure and a season-ending injury for Brionna Jones, severely depleting their authority on the glass. Thomas stepped up yet again, averaging a league-high 10.1 rebounds to salvage the Sun’s presence in the paint. Connecticut may not still be the league-best rebounding team they were last year, but Thomas’s efforts have saved them from falling off a cliff.
Thomas’ ability to pass like a point guard and rebound like the best centers has her in a league of her own. Many teams have injuries, but only the Sun have a player with the skill set to fill whatever role the team needs from her. With Thomas continuing to stuff the stat sheet day in and day out, it doesn’t look like she’ll be slowing down any time soon.
Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.