Nikola Jokic’s numbers don’t look real anymore. They barely look possible. A month into the season, he isn’t just playing at an MVP level. He is leading the league in four major categories at once.
Nikola Jokic’s Rank On The NBA Leaderboard:
– 28.7 PGG (9th)
– 13.0 RPG (1st)
– 10.9 APG (1st)
– 11 Double-Doubles (1st)
– 7 Triple-Doubles (1st)
– 67.2% FG (5th)
He’s first in rebounds. First in assists. First in double-doubles. First in triple-doubles. And he’s ninth in scoring. No modern center has ever touched that combination.
He is averaging 28.7 points, 13 rebounds, and 10.9 assists. He is shooting 67.2 percent from the field and 42.6 percent from three. Guards don’t put up splits like that. Bigs definitely don’t. Somehow Jokic makes it look effortless. He leads the league with 11 double-doubles and seven triple-doubles, and Denver has ridden all of it to a 10-2 start. They’ve won seven straight and look like the biggest threat to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the West.
The way he gets to these numbers is what separates him. There is no force. No wasted motion. Everything is clean. Everything is patient. During a recent six-game stretch, he averaged 35.8 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 11.0 assists while shooting 73.9 percent from the floor and 55.6 percent from three. That same run produced an 85.2 percent true shooting mark, the highest ever recorded across five games. These aren’t hot streaks. These are historic months.
He even stacked three rare feats in eight days. A 50-point game. A 30-15-15 night. A 25-point game without taking a single free throw. Most players never hit one of those. Jokic hit all three before Thanksgiving.
The Clippers felt the full force of it. Jokic dropped 55 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists on them, hitting 18 of 23 shots and 5 of 6 threes. He outscored their entire starting lineup, 55-54. Nights like that aren’t supposed to exist. He’s already logged more of them than most stars will in their careers.
His season numbers now look like something built in a video game. Elite scoring. Elite playmaking. Efficiency that doesn’t line up with logic. And Denver looks deeper than they did last year. More balanced. More sure of who they are.
A fourth MVP is sitting right there. It feels like his award to lose. But none of that is Denver’s focus. They pushed Oklahoma City to seven last spring. This year, they think they can take the next step. And with Jokic operating at a level that feels untouchable, the belief inside that locker room isn’t blind.
It’s earned.
