Nikola Jokic excelled in Game 5 against the Phoenix Suns, finishing with 23 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists, a steal, and 2 blocks.
He led the Denver Nuggets to a dominant win and in the process, passed Wilt Chamberlain for most triple-doubles by a center in the playoffs. When informed of that after the game, Jokic got into a hilarious exchange with Shaquille O’Neal.
Ernie Johnson: “You passed Wilt Chamberlain tonight, most triple-doubles by a Center. Congrats on that!”
Nikola Jokic: “Thank you. Where is Shaq in that list? Is Shaq in that list?”
Shaquille O’Neal: “No, because I never passed Big Honey.”
https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1656161254027960320
Shaq averaged just 2.7 APG in the playoffs and didn’t have a single triple-double in his 216 games. He did have 9 assists on four separate occasions, so he did get very close a few times. It is not like O’Neal’s lack of assists hurt his team though, as he did go on to win four championships.
As for Jokic, this is his 10th triple-double in the playoffs and he is now tied for 5th all-time. Jason Kidd is just ahead of him with 11 while Russell Westbrook has 12. The top two are well ahead of the pack, with Magic Johnson having 30 while LeBron James has 28. The way Jokic is playing though, he might well pass Johnson and LeBron someday. The Serbian has been simply spectacular in this postseason so far, averaging 30.6 PPG, 13.1 RPG, and 9.5 APG over his 10 games, and has his team one win away from the Conference Finals.
Nikola Jokic Will Go Down As One Of The Greatest Bigs Ever
Jokic has received a lot of flak over the last year or so, most of it, because he won back-to-back MVPs. He very well could have won it this year too, after averaging 24.5 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 9.8 APG, and 1.3 SPG, but the MVP debates became way too toxic and he eventually lost out to Joel Embiid.
One of the criticisms regarding Jokic was his apparent failures in the postseason in 2021 and 2022, but he is showing what he can do if he has a healthy team around him. With Jamal Murray finally back, defenses can no longer just key in on Jokic in the playoffs as they did in the last two postseasons, and the results are there for everyone to see. There is no reason to believe he won’t keep this up for quite a few years and that will cement his place among the greatest big men ever. If he can also win a couple of titles, who knows he might even go down as the greatest in the eyes of some.
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