History made again: unfathomable start to season rolls on for Jokic, Nuggets

The Nugget’s controversial offseason and slow start to the regular season are starting to feel like old news as the team has found its footing, mostly thanks to the brilliance of Nikola Jokic. Jokic has been everything the Nuggets have needed and more through their first ten games, and he has the team in prime position, despite all of their obvious shortcomings.

The Nuggets still don’t have enough three-point shooting, their bench players are still past their prime and inconsistent, and their young players are still unproven and inconsistent. The secondary stars still have questionable health and contracts. There is still no clear option at the backup center position whenever Jokic sits.

But right now, for this moment, those issues have been pushed to the back burner because the Nuggets are 7-3, coming off a nailbiting win over the Mavericks, 122-120 on Sunday night. They’ve now won five games in a row and seven of eight following their 0-2 start.

Jokic breaks the stat sheet with 37/18/15 performance

As has been the case in just about every game this season, the Nuggets won on the back of Jokic with his 37 points, 18 rebounds, and 15 assists. In the history of the NBA, nobody has ever put up this stat line before, compiling at least these numbers in each category.

Jokic has now recorded a triple-double in each of his past four games, and they’ve all been achieved before the end of the third quarter. This was also the fourth game of Jokic’s career with at least 30 points, 15 rebounds, and 15 assists; he is the only player over the last 40 years with more than two such games.

Jokic also had three steals in this game and was a perfect 8/8 from the free throw line and 3/3 from the three-point line. Given the state of the roster, the inexperience, and the early season injuries, this team has needed Jokic more than ever, and he has truly risen to the occasion, playing the best basketball of his illustrious career.

It may not be sustainable, but just enjoy it

It’s hard to find - or even fathom - a 10-game stretch of NBA games that was this impressive for an individual player. It has been a joy to watch, and while we hope it never ends, Nuggets fans need to fully appreciate what they are watching at the moment. This is a once-in-a-lifetime type of performance and fans need to stop and smell the roses while witnessing a man master the game of basketball.

So sure, the Nuggets can’t rely on Jokic to save them every single night with gargantuan, historic stat lines. They need to shore up their depth, find some more shooting, and some frontcourt help. Playing the Joker for 40 minutes a night all regular season is not a sustainable model for a championship team. 

But right now, those are tomorrow’s concerns. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the greatest basketball player on the planet right now. We may have to get off this ride eventually, but soak it all in and bask in it while it’s still going.