Nikola Jokic turns into third-ever NBA participant to common triple-double for season

Nikola Jokic will common a triple-double for the season, making the Denver star the third participant in NBA historical past to drag off such a feat.

It grew to become statistically sure Friday evening when Jokic received his fourth help of Denver’s recreation towards the Memphis Grizzlies. That help was his 700th of the season — so, even when he doesn’t get one other earlier than Sunday’s finish of the common season, which might be his seventieth recreation, he’s assured of averaging no worse than 10.0 assists.

The opposite gamers to common a triple-double for a full season: Russell Westbrook, Jokic’s present Denver teammate, and Basketball Corridor of Famer Oscar Robertson.

Westbrook did it 4 occasions — 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 for Oklahoma Metropolis, in addition to in 2020-21 for Washington — and Robertson did it within the 1961-62 season for Cincinnati.

The help that clinched it for Jokic got here on a rating by Christian Braun with about 52 seconds left within the first half. It was not initially credited; the boxscore was up to date at halftime. Jokic wound up getting a triple-double for the sport as effectively, his thirty fourth of the season.

Jokic — the Serbian star who has gained three of the final 4 NBA MVP awards and is a prime candidate for that honor once more this season together with Oklahoma Metropolis’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — has extra triple-doubles this season than some other three gamers within the league mixed. No different NBA participant else entered Friday with greater than 10 this season.

This would be the first time Jokic averages double digits in assists. His earlier profession finest was 2022-23, when he completed with 9.8 assists together with 24.5 factors and 11.8 rebounds.

“When you’ve gotten a man like Jokic, who creates a lot offense for his teammates, everybody’s going to have actually beauty in case you don’t do the proper issues,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch mentioned earlier this month.

Jokic has additionally assured of ending this season averaging a career-best in scoring and can probably find yourself with the second-best rebound common of his profession as effectively. He’ll additionally set career-bests this season in 3-pointers made and 3-point share.

Jokic wanted 73 factors within the season’s closing two video games — towards the Grizzlies on Friday and the finale at Houston on Sunday — to push his scoring common to 30.0 for the season. If that occurs, it might be the third 30-point triple-double common in NBA historical past; Westbrook and Robertson each did that after.

Jokic has 164 regular-season triple-doubles for his profession, second-most in NBA historical past behind Westbrook’s 203. Jokic is the second participant in NBA historical past to have at the least 30 triple-doubles in a season; the opposite is Westbrook, who has pulled that feat off thrice.

Reporting by The Related Press.

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