Nikola Jokic continued his historic season on Friday night with a performance for the ages to help the Nuggets eke out a 149-141 overtime win over the Suns. The Joker finished the game with a stat line never before seen in NBA history, notching 31 points, 21 rebounds, and 22 assists in 44 minutes.
Jokic set a new career-high just last week with 19 assists in a road win over the Pacers and wasted no time in topping that mark by three just days later. Prior to this game, no player in the league had ever recorded a game with 30+ points, 20+ rebounds, and 20+ assists. It’s only right that Nikola, the man who is rewriting the history books, becomes the man to do it.
NIKOLA JOKIĆ MAKES HISTORY 🚨
— NBA (@NBA) March 8, 2025
HIS 20TH ASSIST.
THE FIRST-EVER 30+ PT, 20+ REB, 20+ AST GAME IN NBA HISTORY 🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/TtkDibcd3o
The 22-assist night also gives Jokic the NBA record for most assists in a game by a center, passing Wilt Chamberlain. The Nuggets needed every single one of these stats to get a big win against a game Phoenix squad that refused to quit in Ball Arena. But Jokic was simply too much, continuing to carve up the Suns until the clock struck zeroes.
MVP showdown set for Sunday/Monday
This tour de force from Jokic sets up an incredible situation in the next couple of days as he and the Nuggets will now head to Oklahoma City to face Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder in back-to-back games on Sunday and Monday.
Jokic and SGA have made this year’s MVP Award a two-man race, both pulling away from the field. Jokic is the defending MVP and has won three of the last four awards, but SGA has been the favorite for most of the season, leading the league in scoring while the Thunder lap the competition in the Western Conference.
But Jokic pulled ahead of Gilgeous-Alexander in last week’s NBA.com MVP ladder and with this historic triple-double performance, the award still seems up for grabs going into this well-timed miniseries in OKC.
Nikola Jokic made NBA history with the first 30-20-20 game. Joker is averaging a triple-double and is statistically having the best season of his career, including his three MVP seasons. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is also a strong MVP candidate, but Jokic said hold my beer tonight. pic.twitter.com/u7TYdRqcCQ
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) March 8, 2025
The Thunder are going to run away with the number one seed in the West pretty easily, but the Nuggets are still locked in a battle for the two seed. If Jokic can continue his historically unprecedented statistical season and do it for a top two or three seed, he’s going to have a great case to win another MVP Award.
MVP Award could be won with statement performance
The reality is that this award can be largely narrative-driven. Sometimes, the best story can trump the best season and there’s a real chance for a great story to be written in the next few days.
The whole world is going to be watching these two games in OKC and if one of these superstars is able to make a statement and sweep the two games with decisive performances, that could go a long way in deciding the final vote.