Nuggets’ Jokic Third Ever to Average Triple-Double in Season

After a crazy week that shook the NBA world to its core, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has joined Oscar Robertson and teammate Russell Westbrook as the only players in NBA history to average a triple-double over the course of an 82-game regular season.

The three-time NBA MVP confirmed the honor on Friday in a home game against the Memphis Grizzlies, when he collected yet another triple-double.

That was his 34th triple-double of the season.

It became icing on the cake and statistically certain Friday night when Jokic got his fourth assist in the Nuggets’ 117-109 victory over the Grizzlies. That assist was his 700th of the season, so even if he did not get another before the end of the regular season Sunday, which would be his 70th game, he was assured of averaging no worse than 10.0 assists.

But in fact, Jokic earned nine more and finished the game with 26 points, 16 rebounds and 13 assists. This brings him up to an average of 29.8 points, 12.8 rebounds and 10.3 assists per game.

“When you have a guy like Jokic, who creates so much offense for his teammates, everyone’s going to have really good looks if you don’t do the right things,” Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said earlier this month.

The assist that clinched it for Jokic came on a bucket by Christian Braun with less than a minute left in the second quarter. It was not originally credited; the box score was updated at halftime.

“It’s nice. I didn’t do that before,” Jokic said postgame when asked about averaging a triple-double. “I don’t know. I don’t know what to say. It’s good.”

On Sunday, Jokic will play his 70th and final regular season game, a road contest against the Houston Rockets. He came into Friday’s game with 696 assists, so he only needed four helpers for 700 total to lock in 10.0 APG (Assists Per Game) for the year.

Jokic got that with ease, cementing one of the most remarkable individual campaigns in NBA history. A big man had never averaged a triple-double before, with Robertson and Westbrook, who did this four times, both guards.

“If he doesn’t win the MVP, it’s the greatest season of all time not to win the MVP,” Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said of Jokic, a three-time winner of the award who is competing with Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the honor this season.

Jokic has amassed 164 regular-season triple-doubles for his career, second most in NBA history behind Westbrook’s 203.

But Jokic got it done on Friday, adding another line to a Hall of Fame resume.