Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Nikola Jokic on pace for greatest statistical season of modern era

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Jan 20, 2025 8:22 AM ET

Nikola Jokic recorded his 18th triple-double of the 2024-25 season Sunday in the Nuggets' 113-100 win over the Magic.

With 40 games left, Jokic needs 24 more triple-doubles to match teammate Russell Westbrook's record (set in 2016-17) for most triple-doubles in a season. At his current pace — 18 triple-doubles from 36 games — Jokic is unlikely to break Westbrook's record. However, he is on pace to rewrite the history books on several other counts.

First, the Serb is a few assists shy of becoming the first center in NBA history to average a 30-point triple-double (currently averages 30.4 points, 13.1 rebounds, 9.9 assists). Guards Westbrook (2016-17) and Oscar Robertson (1961-62) remain the only players to achieve the mind-blowing feat.

Second, Jokic is on pace to become the first player ever to rank top five in five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals and 3PT%, per StatsPerform. As of Monday, he ranked third in points, third in rebounds, second in assists, tied fifth in steals and second in 3PT%. For context, no player in history has finished a season ranking even in the top 10 in each of those categories.

Nikola Jokic is top five in

— Points
— Rebounds
— Assists
— Double-doubles
— Triple-doubles
— Three-point percentage

MVP? pic.twitter.com/y7oew1e8Ju
— StatMuse (@statmuse) January 20, 2025

Nikola Jokić puts up his 18th triple-double of the season! The next-closest player has 8

20 PTS
14 REB
10 AST
3 STL
3 BLK

Nuggets get their 6th win in 7 games! pic.twitter.com/Gdgc2g3E05
— NBA (@NBA) January 20, 2025

Such has been Jokic's dominance that 12 of his 18 triple-doubles this season have been recorded before the fourth quarter. That's more than any of the other 29 teams have in total. The fact that so many of his triple-doubles have come early into games has shut down the chatter of him being "a stat-padder" or a player putting up empty calories.

Greatest statistical season ever?

There is a credible argument that Jokic's 2024-25 season will go down as the greatest statistical feat in modern history. Why? It's the efficiency numbers. When Robertson averaged a 30-point triple-double in 1961-62, he shot 47.8 percent from the field and 80.3 percent from the free throw line. Similarly, Westbrook maintained 42/34/84 shooting splits during his historic campaign in 2016-17.

Jokic is maintaining 56/47/80 shooting splits while attempting 20.4 shots per game. That's unheard of. Even the great Wilt Chamberlain didn't shoot so efficiently when he averaged 50.4 points and 25.7 rebounds in 1961-62. The sheer volume of the numbers means Chamberlain will always be the greatest statistical monster, but Jokic's all-around efficiency and impact on winning is unprecedented.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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