Nuggets' Nikola Jokic makes history with incredible stat line

The game marked Jokic's fourth career 30/15/15 game, his fourth straight triple-double and his second 25/15/15 game of the young season. Jokic now only trails Oscar Robertson (11) for most 30/15/15 games in history. He has more such games than all active players combined. 

Recent history suggests that Jokic's first-time box entry of 37/18/15 is par for the course. Last season, he became the first with lines such as 26/16/18, 32/16/16/4 and 35/17/12/6 en route to his third MVP.

The scary aspect of Jokic this year is his renewed focus on the defensive end. Sunday's win over Dallas marked his second game with at least three steals and his sixth game with at least two steals through 10 outings. The Serb jokingly referred to himself as the "cookie monster" when asked about his proclivity to come away with steals. 

Jokic has also taken an even bigger role running Denver's offense this season. Through 10 games thus far, he has seven games of 13+ assists. Last season, he had only 10 such games. If he keeps at his current pace, the Serb is almost a lock to become the first player since teammate Russell Westbrook to average a triple-double. In 2022-23, he came tantalizingly close but finished averaging 9.8 assists. 

The three-time MVP is averaging 29.7 points, 13.7 rebounds and 11.7 assists at 56/56/84 shooting splits. Yes, these are real numbers. He leads the league in rebounds and assists and is second in three-point percentage (min. three attempts a game). No player in NBA history has led the league in assists and rebounds in the same season.

Here's another mind-blowing stat: no player in history has averaged 28/11/11 on 65 percent true shooting over a 10-game stretch. The Nuggets star is lapping those numbers on 65 percent true shooting thus far. 

Jokic's incredible 10-game start to the season has propelled the Nuggets to a 7-3 record. The team faced a ton of uncertainty after last season's upset playoff defeat to the Timberwolves and the loss of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency. But Jokic has single-handedly made it a title contender again. 

Denver will now start a three-game road trip for a game in New Orleans and back-to-back games in Memphis.