● Only 16 players have managed to get a triple-double with 29 minutes or less of playing time since 1985 and they include Hall-of-Famers and elites, such as Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Jason Kidd, Shaquille O’Neal, Kevin Durant, Russel Westbrook, Stephen Curry, etc. So Lin became just the 17th player to achieve such a feat.
● Lin becomes only the third player since 1985 to get a triple-double playing 29 minutes or less coming off the bench. There’s a reason why there are so few players who have done this. Getting a triple double is so rare, because you’re doing everything on the court and usually, the guys who tend to do everything on the court are the superstars and Hall-of-Famers. But Lin managed to do this as a guy coming off the bench, playing only 29 minutes! This stuff just doesn’t happen. You have to be uber-talented and skilled to pull this off. Yet, McHale felt Jeremy Lin belonged on the bench. But thanks to McHale, Lin managed to put up one of the most improbable records in NBA history!