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Nikola Jokic gets the and-1 to fall (0:21)
Nikola Jokic gets the and-1 to fall (0:21)
Associated Press
Apr 11, 2025, 10:57 PM ET
DENVER -- Nikola Jokic will average a triple-double for the season, making the Denver star the third player in NBA history to pull off such a feat.
It became statistically certain Friday night when Jokic got his fourth assist in the Nuggets' game against the Memphis Grizzlies. That assist was his 700th of the season -- so, even if he doesn't get another before the end of the regular season Sunday, which would be his 70th game, he is assured of averaging no worse than 10.0 assists.
The other players to average a triple-double for a full season: Russell Westbrook, Jokic's current Denver teammate, and Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson.
Westbrook did it four times -- 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 for Oklahoma City, as well as in 2020-21 for Washington -- and Robertson did it in the 1961-62 season for Cincinnati.
The assist that clinched it for Jokic came on a score by Christian Braun with less than a minute left in the first half. It was not originally credited; the box score was updated at halftime.
Jokic -- the Serbian star who has won three of the past four NBA MVP awards and is a top candidate for that honor again this season along with Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander -- entered Friday with 33 triple-doubles. No other NBA player else entered Friday with more than 10.
This will be the first time Jokic averages double digits in assists. His previous career best was 2022-23, when he finished with 9.8 assists along with 24.5 points and 11.8 rebounds.
"When you have a guy like Jokic, who creates so much offense for his teammates, everyone's going to have really good looks if you don't do the right things," Minnesota coach Chris Finch said earlier this month.
Jokic is also assured of finishing this season averaging a career best in scoring and will likely end up with the second-best rebound average of his career, as well. He'll also set career highs this season in 3-pointers made and 3-point percentage.
Jokic needed 73 points in the season's final two games -- against the Grizzlies on Friday and the finale at Houston on Sunday -- to push his scoring average to 30.0. If that happens, it would be the third 30-point triple-double average in NBA history; Westbrook and Robertson both did that once.
Jokic also entered Friday with 163 regular-season triple-doubles for his career, second most in NBA history behind Westbrook's 203. Jokic is the second player in NBA history to have 30 triple-doubles in a season. The other is Westbrook, who has pulled that feat off three times.
