DENVER — Nikola Jokic will average a triple-double for the season, making the Denver star the third player in NBA history to pull off such a feat.
It became statistically certain Friday night when Jokic got his fourth assist in the Nuggets’ 117-109 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. That assist was his 700th of the season — so, even if he didn’t 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 Jokic did get another, and he finished Friday night with 12 assists — to go with 26 points and 16 rebounds — for his 34th triple-double of the season.
The other players to average a triple-double for a full season: Russell Westbrook, Jokic’s current Denver teammate, and Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson. Westbrook did it four times — 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 for Oklahoma City, as well as in 2020-21 for Washington — and Robertson did it in the 1961-62 season for Cincinnati.
“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.”
The assist that clinched it for Jokic came on a score by Christian Braun with less than a minute left in the first half. It was not originally credited; the box score was updated at halftime.
Jokic’s 34th triple-double of the season is tied for the fourth most in a season in NBA history. Westbrook has the most with 42 in 2016-17. No other NBA player entered Friday with more than 10 this season.
“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 vying with Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the honor this season.
This will be the first time Jokic averages double digits in assists. His previous career best was in 2022-23, when he finished with 9.8 assists along with 24.5 points and 11.8 rebounds.
“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 coach Chris Finch said earlier this month.
Jokic is also assured of finishing this season averaging a career best in scoring and will likely end up with the second-best rebound average of his career, as well. He’ll also set career highs this season in 3-pointers made and 3-point percentage.
Jokic needs 47 points in Denver’s finale at Houston on Sunday to push his scoring average to 30.0. If that happens, it would be the third 30-point triple-double average in NBA history; Westbrook and Robertson both did that once.
Jokic has 164 regular-season triple-doubles for his career, second most in NBA history behind Westbrook’s 203.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
