New Orleans Pelicans all-time leaders in double-doubles

While not as rare or impressive as a triple-double, a double-double at the NBA level is still a big deal. Back in the day, the league’s best big men prided themselves on eclipsing the 10 points and 10 rebounds mark as much as possible. Meanwhile, floor generals would aspire to accomplish the same feat, but instead with points and assists.

With this said, since we are in the heart of the off-season, why don’t we take a look at who the New Orleans Pelicans (and Hornets) all-time leaders are in double-doubles?

What is a double-double?

But before we do that, we need to set the ground rules for what the league counts as a double-double. Here is the exact definition given to us by NBA.com (the official website of the NBA):

"“When a player reaches double figures (10 or more) in two of the five main statistical categories – points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks – they have achieved a double-double. The most common double-doubles combinations are points and rebounds for big men and points and assists for guards. Reaching double figures in steals or blocks is extremely rare. When a player reaches double figures in three of the five categories, they have achieved a triple-double. Nearly all triple-doubles consists of points, rebounds and assists.”"

The Top 10 List 

With those ground rules set, here is the list of the top-10 leaders in double-doubles in Pelicans (and Hornets) history:

New Orleans Pelicans All-Time Leaders in Double-Doubles (number of double-doubles)*

1. Anthony Davis (270)

2. Chris Paul (209)

3. David West (129)

4. Jonas Valanciunas (93)

5. Tyson Chandler (87)

6. P.J. Brown (81)

7. Jamaal Magloire (77)

8. Jrue Holiday (71)

9. Emeka Okafor (55)

10. DeMarcus Cousins (50)

*Data Provided by Stat Muse

The first thing to say here is that it is easier for bigs to pick up a double-double than guards, as rebounding is largely independent of teammate performance (whereas to be credited with an assist you need your teammate to make the shot). That’s why there are way more bigs on this top-10 list than their are guards (the Pelicans/Hornets have also had better bigs than guards in their franchise’s history).

Another thing to note here is that the only current Pelican to crack the top-10 is Jonas Valanciunas. And he’s been racking up the double-doubles at a rapid pace too (one double-double every 1.6 games). If he keeps at this current rate, there’s a good chance he passes David West on this list next season (so long as he’s still with the team).

And lastly, DeMarcus Cousins may only be tenth on this, but no player in franchise history hit the 50 double-double mark faster than he did. Cousins played just 65 games for the Pelicans. That means that he got a double-double in 77% of the games he played in while with New Orleans.