Nikola Jokic emulates Wilt Chamberlain feat from 1968

Jokic all but sealed the Nuggets' win by the end of the third when he made a miraculous full-court heave to put Denver up by 25. However, the Kings would outscore the Nuggets, 38-22, in the fourth to pull within single-digit points but couldn't complete the come-from-behind win.

The performance was all the more impressive as it came against the red-hot Kings, who entered the game on a 10-2 run in their last dozen games under interim coach Doug Christie. Furthermore, Jokic was matched against fellow stat-stuffing machine Domantas Sabonis, who averaged 16.1 rebounds over his previous 12 games.

In their head-to-head battle, Jokic would outshine Sabonis in every statistical category — 35 to 23 in points, 23 to 19 in rebounds and 17 to eight in assists — to set the tone for the Nuggets from the onset. 

After Thursday's game, Jokic made a telling comment about his blistering run of triple-doubles and historic feats. 

"I think this is the best basketball of my life, that I have ever played," he said, via The Denver Post. "I'm feeling good out there. I'm in shape. The ball is going in. I'm feeling good. I think I can influence the game on different levels."

It's astounding that Jokic, a former three-time MVP, feels he's just entering the prime of his career. The numbers back up his claim, seeing as he's averaging career-highs in points (30.2), assists (10.1), steals (1.9), 3P% (47.9) and 3PM (2.1) through 38 games this season.

While a 35/20/15 game had been recorded once before, by Chamberlain, Jokic notched several first-time box-score entries during his MVP-winning campaign in 2023-24. He became the first player with stat lines such as 26/16/18, 32/16/16/4 and 35/17/12/6. There's a reason Jokic has been widely hailed as the NBA's greatest statistical marvel since Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson.