Russell Westbrook will retire because the NBA’s all-time chief in triple-doubles, however he won’t have that title by the point his Denver Nuggets teammate Nikola Jokić is completed.
The three-time NBA MVP posted 27 factors, 20 rebounds and 11 assists on Thursday in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, giving Jokić the 139th triple-double of his profession. That strikes forward of Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson for the third-most ever.
Solely Westbrook (200) and Oscar Robertson (181) have extra.
Few statues are constructed on the idea of being third-best at one thing, however Jokić seems to have a shot of catching Westbrook (although it is not like he wants to take action for a statue). Westbrook at present has 61 extra triple-doubles than Jokić, however Westbrook is 36 years previous and Jokić is 29. That provides the massive man loads of runway to stat-sheet stuff his technique to historical past.
Jokić posted 85 triple-doubles within the 4 full seasons since his first MVP award and already has 9 in 17 video games this season. That tempo of triple-doubles in 27.3% of video games performed works out to Jokić needing to play roughly 223 video games to catch Westbrook, or lower than three seasons.
So baring a serious damage or sudden drop-off in kind, Jokić seems to have a reasonably good shot.
That ongoing chase is barely a small a part of a season during which Jokić once more seems to be the frontrunner for MVP. It is not solely due to his formidable counting stats both, as his impression on his workforce is … stark:
Regardless of Jokić persevering with his MVP kind, it has been a difficult season for the Nuggets, who’re 11-9 after falling to the Cavs. Denver nonetheless has its stars, however has additionally seen some attrition since profitable its title in 2023, such because the losses of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown. It hasn’t been straightforward discovering replacements.
