Nikola Jokic continues to make NBA history.
The Denver Nuggets center unleashed another huge stat line on Tuesday, scoring a game-high 35 points on 15-of-24 shooting while grabbing a steal in the Nuggets’ 134-116 home win over the New Orleans Pelicans. 14 rebounds and 12 assists.
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But those aren’t really big numbers for Joker.
Jokic moves past Los Angeles Lakers with latest triple-double‘ LeBron James Ranked fourth in NBA history.
This stat becomes even crazier when we know that the Denver big man has played 813 fewer games than James.
Jokic currently has 108 triple-doubles in his career.
He surpassed Jason Kidd and James to rank fourth in NBA history.
Next up is Magic Johnson, who is only 30 times away from a triple-double.
Another big night from Jokic helped Denver overcome a hamstring injury to star guard Jamal Murray, who is expected to miss multiple games.
“His injury is not a one- or two-game injury,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “That’s all I know. “It’s going to be longer than we hope. “
Jokic has won two NBA MVP awards and won a championship with the Nuggets last season.
Not bad for a former second-round pick (41st overall in 2014) who didn’t become a full-time starter until his third NBA season.
The Denver Nuggets are starting the 2023-24 season with a bang, picking up win after win and improving to 7-1 with their latest victory over the Pelicans.
The Nuggets hold the league’s best record and are already considered a serious threat to the defending world champions.
Jokic performed well at the beginning of the new season, averaging 28.4 points, 12.9 rebounds and 8.4 assists per game.
Those jaw-dropping numbers are almost a triple-double every night, another reason why the NBA’s best big man has surpassed James in the history books.