It shouldn’t have been possible for Nikola Jokic to take his game to an even higher level this season. The Denver Nuggets superstar had already won three NBA MVPs, one NBA championship, and one NBA Finals MVP entering the 2024-25 season. With Jokic firmly in his prime at age-29, it felt like the Nuggets were crumbling around him: Denver lost three key pieces from the 2023 championship team over the last two years, Jamal Murray was dipping in performance due to injuries, and none of the young players the franchise drafted had truly popped.
Nikola Jokic’s bonkers triple-double stat obliterates every NBA team in just 3 quarters
This Nikola Jokic stat cannot be real.
Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
Somehow, the Joker finds a way. After the Nuggets beat the pathetic Philadelphia 76ers, 144-109, on Tuesday night, Denver moved to a season-high 11 games over .500 and currently sits in the No. 4 seed in the West. All Jokic did in the victory was secure another triple-double in only three quarters. It’s the fourth straight game Jokic has earned his triple-double before the fourth quarter, which is becoming something of a signature accomplishment for him this season.
Jokic leads the NBA with 18 triple-doubles this season. He has now secured 13 of those triple-doubles before the fourth quarter. That means Jokic has more triple-doubles in three quarters than any other team has in four quarters.
The Lakers have the most triple-doubles as a team this year outside of the Denver. Lakers players have combined for 10 triple-doubles this season. Here’s the list of 13 games where Jokic has secured a triple-double in just three quarters.
Only a year ago, the league was debating Joel Embiid vs. Jokic for MVP. Everything since that time has gone the Joker’s way. Embiid had to play through numerous injuries in last season’s playoff run before another early exit by the 76ers. This season, Embiid has only played 13 games, and the Sixers have fallen from contenders to tankers because of it.
Meanwhile, Jokic just continues to be a stud. He secured the triple-double against Philly on Tuesday with a signature lob to teammate Aaron Gordon. Watch the way Jokic tricks the defender to running for the corner before making the pass to Gordon for an easy two points.
Will it Jokic or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for MVP? You can’t go wrong either way. We are witnessing one of the best players ever at his absolute peak. It’s cinema every time Jokic takes the floor.
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