Phoenix Mercury star Alyssa Thomas is leading the triple-double revolution — and she’s not even finished building out her stats sheet.
Triple-doubles were a rare occurrence through most of WNBA history. Then the statline exploded, with nine recorded during the 2022 season.
And the pace never slowed. By the middle of the 2026 season, there are 68 triple-doubles and counting.
How Alyssa Thomas Became the Undisputed Triple-Double Heavyweight
Experts credit Thomas for the recent uptick. The forward recorded the first triple-double of her career on July 22nd, 2022. She then finished the year with four — breaking the career record in a single season. She has since blown past every mark, entering the tail end of 2026 with 28 career triple-doubles. That spans 22 in the regular season and six in the playoffs, accounting for nearly half of the league’s all-time total.
Thomas is the only WNBA player to record more than two triple-doubles in one season. And she’s managed that feat several times over, including dropping a record eight in 2025 and three in 2026.
“Like it just seems so routine that Alyssa Thomas gets a triple-double or close to a triple-double or a double-double,” former Sun boss Stephanie White said in 2023. “It’s not routine, it’s exceptional.”
However, Thomas isn’t alone. Dallas Wings forward Jessica Shepard has emerged as the next big prolific threat. She’s recorded five of her six triple-doubles in 2026 alone — the second-most in a single season behind Thomas.
“The game is changing,” retired WNBA legend Candace Parker predicted after registering her third statline in 2022. “I think we’re gonna very soon see this on a nightly basis.”
How Many Triple-Doubles Have Been Recorded So Far?
In total, there have been 68 triple-doubles across 30 WNBA seasons. 60 came in the regular season, while eight arrived during the playoffs.
Houston Comets icon Sheryl Swoopes recorded the first-ever triple-double in 1999. Six years later, she posted the first postseason statline. WNBA journeyman Courtney Vandersloot subsequently added the second-ever playoff triple-double in 2021.
Unsurprisingly, Thomas has since dominated the postseason record books. She currently owns six of the eight playoff triple-doubles in league history. No other player has recorded more than one.
Stats Leaders Climb the WNBA’s All-Time Ranks
The league’s triple-double leaderboard has grown substantially since its 2022 heyday.
Here’s the current Top 10:
1. Alyssa Thomas: 28
2. Jessica Shepard: 6
3. Sabrina Ionescu: 4
4. Caitlin Clark: 4
5. Candace Parker: 3
6. Jackie Young: 3
7. Chelsea Gray: 2
8. Courtney Williams: 2
9. Courtney Vandersloot: 2
10. Sheryl Swoopes: 2
Thirteen other players have recorded one apiece. The list includes pioneers Margo Dydek, Lisa Leslie, Deanna Nolan, and Temeka Johnson. Meanwhile, Moriah Jefferson, Satou Sabally, Sug Sutton, Layshia Clarendon, Tina Charles, Angel Reese, Julie Allemand, Natasha Howard, and Skylar Diggins represent the modern boom.
Get to Know the All-Time WNBA Stat Leaders
Sheryl Swoopes (2)
Decorated women’s basketball trailblazer Swoopes recorded the league’s debut triple-double in July 1999 with 14 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists. She added a second in September 2005, with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. That made her the first to post the coveted stat in both a regular-season and playoff game.
Courtney Vandersloot (2)
Vandersloot recorded the first of her two triple-doubles in July 2018, dropping 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 15 assists for the Chicago Sky. She registered her second during the Sky’s 2021 title run, notching 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. She subsequently became just the second player to record a playoff triple-double.
Chelsea Gray (2)
Gray recorded her first triple-double in July 2019, putting up 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists for the LA Sparks. She notched her second with the Aces in August 2023. That’s when she posted 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists against the Liberty for the franchise’s first effort since 2001.
Courtney Williams (2)
After joining Chicago as a free agent in 2023, Williams recorded the first two triple-doubles of her career. She dropped 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists on the Sparks in June, later netting 23 points, 16 rebounds, and 13 assists against the Sun that September.
Jackie Young (3)
Young recorded her first two triple-doubles with Las Vegas in 2025. She tacked on a third earlier this month, dishing out 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists against the Atlanta Dream. Young shot 4-for-7 from beyond the arc in the win, which snapped Atlanta’s five-game winning streak and pushed the playoff-bound Aces to 21-9 on the year.
Candace Parker (3)
It took nine seasons for Parker to join the triple-double club. The first came in July 2017, when she tallied 11 points, 17 rebounds, and 15 assists for the LA Sparks.
She got her next two with the Sky in 2022. Her first effort (16 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists) made her the oldest player to score a triple-double in WNBA history. Just one month later, she took the league’s all-time lead with three, putting up 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 14 assists against her former Sparks squad.
Sabrina Ionescu (4)
Ionescu netted her first triple-double in May 2021, recording 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists — the highest total statline since women’s basketball great Lisa Leslie in 2004.
She later bested that number with a 27-point, 13-rebound, and 12-assist performance in June 2022. That next month, Ionescu set the record for triple-double points with 31 against Las Vegas. She went on to add a fourth in July 2023 against the Seattle Storm, posting all four for the New York Liberty.
Caitlin Clark (4)
In 2024, Clark became the first rookie to ever record a triple-double. The Indiana Fever superstar has since climbed to third on the all-time list behind only Thomas and Shepard.
Clark registered the first of her two freshman feats in a July 2024 win over the Liberty, before grabbing another in September. She later notched one more in her injury-shortened 2025 season. Her fourth came this past July, when she dropped 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists on the Portland Fire.
Jessica Shepard (6)
Shepard made immediate impact after signing with the Wings in 2026, recording six triple-doubles so far this year to rank second on the league’s single-season list. Her 22-point, 20-rebound, 10-assist statline against the Aces in May made her just the second player, alongside Thomas, to post a 20-point, 20-rebound triple-double.
And she’ll have yet another a chance to extend her campaign, as surging Dallas prepares to make its first playoff appearance since 2023 later this month.
Alyssa Thomas (28)
Thomas recorded the first triple-double of her career — and the first in Connecticut Sun history — on July 22nd, 2022, tallying 15 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds. Later that season, she added the first triple-double in WNBA finals history — running it back the next night to become the first player to post back-to-back triple-doubles.
She erupted for seven more in 2023, capped by a September 5th statline of 27 points, 14 assists, 12 rebounds, and six steals — the first 25-10-10-5 game in league history.
“I’m doing something that’s never been done in the league before,” Thomas said at the time. “And I’m making it look easy.”
She only accelerated after signing with the Phoenix Mercury in 2025. That’s where she became the first player to record a triple-double in three straight games, while also setting the stat’s assist record with 17.
And while Shepard’s breakout year appears to be giving the veteran a run for her money, Thomas’s 28-strong record is likely to remain untouched this year. But, of course, there’s always 2027.
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