Nikola Jokić had another incredible, utterly historic NBA season.
He led the Nuggets to a top-two seed in the Western Conference for the second straight year and helped the franchise tie their single-season win record with 57 victories. Nikola's got as deserving of a case for his third MVP as you're going to see, which would put him in an illustrious class. Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, LeBron James, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Moses Malone have won three or more regular season MVPs.
Here's an overview of some of the many, many statistical milestones and achievements Jokić pulled off this season.
- Jokić was fifth in total points, third in total rebounds, second in total assists, and eighth in total steals. He’s the only player in NBA history to be top-10 in all four categories in a single season.
- Nikola was the only player in the NBA that was top-15 in average points (twelfth), assists (fourth), and rebounds (fourth) this season.
- Jokić led the entire league in on/off offensive efficiency with plus-18.9 points per 100 possessions.
- He was first in total plus-minus at plus-682.
- Jokić was first in VORP (Value Over Replacement Player), PER (Player Efficiency Rating), Win Shares, Offensive Win Shares, Box Plus/Minus, Offensive Box Plus/Minus, and Defensive Box Plus/Minus.
- Every single Nuggets starter had a higher effective field goal percentage with Jokić on the floor compared to him off it.
- Jokić was the only player in the league that averaged at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists. He's the sixth player to ever put up these numbers.
- Nikola was second in total at-rim assists and total two-point assists.
- He was first in total steals by a center.
- Jokić was fifth in total deflections in the NBA.
- He was second in the NBA in non-restricted painted area field goal percentage at 61.7 percent (minimum 100 attempts). This is typically where players take floaters and hook shots from.
- He finished second in total points in the painted area.
- Jokić was first in post-up points and assists.
- He also led the league in total points and total assists from the elbows.
- Jokić recorded the second-most double-doubles in the league with 68 and the second-most triple-doubles with 25.
- Nikola had 21 games of 25-point triple-doubles, which led the league.
- On March 11th against the Toronto Raptors, he became the first player to ever drop 35 points, 17 rebounds, 12 assists, and 6 steals in a game.
- On February 25th against the Golden State Warriors, he became the first player to ever tally 32 points, 16 rebounds, 16 assists, and 4 steals in a game.
- He had the second-longest streak of 20-point and 10-rebound games with 12 consecutive from October 24th to November 17th.
- You could make a case that Jokić had the most efficient three-game run since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976. From December 28th to January 1st, Jokić missed just two total shots in three games. This wound up being the highest field goal percentage in NBA history (92.9 percent) with at least 25 total shots in three games.