My favorite basketball statistic is the five by five: five points, blocks, steals, assists, and rebounds on any given night.
The feat is incredibly rare. Since 1995, the 5×5 has only been reached 6 times, with Andrei Kirilenko reaching it three times, and twice in a week during the 2003 season.
So…during the course of the NBA season, I’ll be keeping a stat watch on the 5×5 and updating the blog if it occurs or whenever a player comes close.
Tonight, it was Josh Smith of Atlanta (my favorite to reach the mark first) and Shawn Marion of Phoenix who came the closest…
Smith: 10 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 5 blocks
Marion: 18 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals, 4 blocks