Why Kevin Love's Double-Doubles Are Nothing Fantastic
Kevin Love's 23 points and 17 rebounds in a losing effort a few days ago was his 51st consecutive double-double. Since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976, it is the longest mark during a single season.
Moses Malone's mark of 51 straight games covered the course of two seasons. While Love's streak is certainly impressive, it pales in comparison to the actual NBA record, 227 consecutive games set by Wilt Chamberlain from 1964-67.
Wilt’s record, however, seems to have fallen by the wayside. This is due to an interesting phenomenon taking over most things related to the National Basketball Association; using the NBA-ABA merger as the absolute starting point for any and all league accomplishments.
Reading some articles on Love’s historic night, you might be led to believe the NBA started in 1977. Obviously, this is not the case. The league’s first official season was 1946-47, a good 30 years prior to the merger.
So why are we pretending those 30 previous seasons never happened?
One theory of this merger-as-a-starting-point involves the separation of what we perceive to be the modern era and the old days. This is an acceptable designation, but shouldn’t involve the imaginary development of setting NBA records from 1977 onward. It was still the NBA prior to that year.
Many records from the “old days” still stand, as they should. However, it seems there are certain avenues of criticism about the validity of these records, as we point to the different style of play, fewer teams and lack of certain documented statistics.
This criticism is senseless. If what these players accomplished during that time shouldn’t count, then let revisionist theory take over across the board; the Boston Celtics only have four championships.
From a baseball angle, the New York Yankees only won seven World Series, since the other 20 came prior to 1963. Call a spade a spade.
As a side note, it is entirely possible that Wilt’s record of 227 consecutive double-doubles may be genuinely longer. Tempo and possessions per game aside, Chamberlain played in a different era from a statistical standpoint.
Certain figures and stats simply were not kept, such as steals, blocks, offensive rebounds and the like. The 227 consecutive games fell between Wilt’s fifth through eighth seasons, essentially not taking into account his first four seasons in the league.
Those first four seasons were, by far, Wilt’s most prolific seasons statistically: 100-point game, 50.4 points per game, 27 and 27.2 rebounds. It would have to be a practical meltdown if Wilt during this time failed to post, at the very least, a 30-point, 20-rebound performance; staggering double-double numbers for more than 51 straight games.
If he were alive today, Wilt would undoubtedly scoff at Love and Malone’s streak.
