In basketball, the players who can tick the most boxes tend to be the most valuable.
There isn't a stat that celebrates someone's versatility quite like the 5x5.
While triple-doubles are no longer the rarity they once were in the NBA, a 5x5 remains incredibly hard to come by. It's no wonder. The quicker teams play and the more spacing they have to work with, the harder it is for players to generate the blocks and steals needed to pull off the rare feat.
What even is a 5x5 and how many have there been in NBA history? Let's take a look.
MORE: Who has the most triple-doubles in NBA history?
What is a 5x5 game in basketball?
A 5x5 is when a player records at least five points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals in a single game.
The NBA didn't start recording blocks and steals until the 1973-74 season. Otherwise, there's a strong chance Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell would be in the 5x5 history books.
How rare is a 5x5 in the NBA?
The 5x5 should be called the Hakeem Olajuwon.
There have been a total of 22 5x5 performances in NBA history, all of which have come in the regular season. Olajuwon is responsible for six of those. The only other player who has ever had multiple 5x5 games in their career is Andrei Kirilenko, who accomplished it three times.
That's not all. Olajuwon happens to be the only player to have recorded a triple-double while also posting a 5x5. Again, he did it multiple times. He even came close to a 5x5 quadruple-double once.
George Johnson was the first player to ever post a 5x5 in an NBA game. Victor Wembanyama is the most recent one, posting the first of his career on Feb. 23, 2024. The budding Spurs star became the youngest player ever and second rookie to accomplish the feat.
Here's the full list of 5x5 games in NBA history, per Stathead:
| Player | Year | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK |
| George Johnson | 1978 | 15 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 7 |
| George Gervin | 1979 | 21 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Julius Erving | 1979 | 28 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 5 |
| Hakeem Olajuwon | 1987 | 38 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 12 |
| Hakeem Olajuwon | 1990 | 29 | 18 | 9 | 5 | 11 |
| Hakeem Olajuwon | 1992 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| David Robinson | 1992 | 29 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| Derrick Coleman | 1993 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 5 |
| Hakeem Olajuwon | 1993 | 33 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Hakeem Olajuwon | 1993 | 24 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Hakeem Olajuwon | 1993 | 34 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 8 |
| Vlade Divac | 1995 | 19 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 5 |
| Jamaal Tinsley | 2001 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 6 | 5 |
| Andrei Kirilenko | 2003 | 19 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 5 |
| Andrei Kirilenko | 2003 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| Marcus Camby | 2004 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 8 |
| Andrei Kirilenko | 2006 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 7 |
| Nicolas Batum | 2012 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 5 |
| Draymond Green | 2015 | 24 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 5 |
| Anthony Davis | 2018 | 12 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Jusuf Nurkić | 2019 | 24 | 23 | 7 | 5 | 5 |
| Victor Wembanyama | 2024 | 27 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 5 |
