Turning 29 just a few days ago, there isn’t much Nikola Jokic hasn’t accomplished in the NBA. He’s already a two-time MVP, winning in 2020-21 and 2021-22. Last season, he won his first championship with the Denver Nuggets while being named Finals MVP. The Serbian has been named a Western Conference All-Star in each of the last six seasons. He has put up numbers that have never been seen for a man his size. Not bad for a guy selected in the second round (41st overall) in the 2014 NBA Draft.
There isn’t much left to check off the bucket list for Jokic during his playing career. Well, until yesterday, there was one minor thing he hadn’t done yet in his career. The near seven-footer had never recorded a triple-double against the Washington Wizards.
Nikola Jokic Joins Triple-Double History in Win Over Wizards
Jokic Now Has a Triple-Double Against Every Other Team
There are 30 teams in the NBA. Jokic has played against 29 of them, with his Nuggets being the one team he hasn’t. After last night’s performance, he has at least one triple-double against each of those 29 teams.
There was just one team he hadn’t accomplished that feat against before yesterday: the Wizards. Last night saw Denver easily take care of a lowly Washington team by the score of 130-110 to improve their record to 37-19. They sit fourth in the Western Conference standings, just 2.5 games behind the top-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves.
For the first time in his 17 career outings against the Wizards, Jokic recorded a triple-double. He finished the game an astounding 10-10 from the field, scoring 21 points, grabbing 19 rebounds, and dishing out 15 assists.
He is now one of just three players in NBA history to have at least one triple-double against every team they have played against. The other two are active players, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook.
Future Triple-Double King?
The all-time leader in triple-doubles is Westbrook, who has 198 in his career. Incredibly, Westbrook had four seasons where he averaged a triple-double. While he is still active playing with the Los Angeles Clippers, his days of triple-doubles may be over as he is currently in a reserve role. Westbrook does not yet have a triple-double this season.
After last night, Jokic now already has 121 triple-doubles in his career. That puts him fourth on the all-time list, only behind Westbrook, Oscar Robertson (181), and Magic Johnson (138). As mentioned, Jokic isn’t even 30 years old yet. He will inevitably continue to rack them up.
Jokic led the league the previous two seasons with triple-doubles, recording 29 in 2022-23 and 19 in 2021-22. His 16 triple-doubles this season place him second behind Domantas Sabonis’ 19.
With 16 triple-doubles in 56 games, that puts Jokic on pace for about another seven this season, giving him 128 total. That would put him 71 away from surpassing Westbrook’s total (if Westbrook doesn’t get anymore).
As long as he stays healthy, there’s no reason to believe that Jokic won’t crack over 200 for his career by the time it’s over. It will be just another thing to list when talking about the historic legacy he will have created.
