Lost in the chaos of the mini-disaster in New York and all of the trade deadline news and drama, Nikola Jokic tied the "Big O", Oscar Robertson, for second on the all-time list of career triple-doubles with 181. Russell Westbrook, now the only name left to pass on the famed list, is 26 ahead with 207. At his current pace, the Joker will take over first place sometime early next season.
The legendary list of players reads more like a Mount Rushmore of NBA greats: Magic Johnson, LeBron James, Wilt Chamberlain, Jason Kidd, and Larry Bird. The only current player on the list with a chance of catching Jokic is Luka Doncic, who has 88 triple-doubles. But Jokic's triple-double mastery only tells a portion of the story about the season he is having.
Jokic's having his best statistical season yet
Despite missing 16 games due to a knee injury, Jokic is on pace to qualify for the NBA leaderboards and postseason awards. Once he reaches the minimum number of games played, he will be leading the league in both rebounds per game (12.1) and assists per game (10.5). No player has ever accomplished that feat. He's averaging 29.1 points per game, the second-highest total of his career.
But it's the advanced metrics that really shine on how great and efficient his season has been. Again, once qualified, he will be the league leader in PER (Player Efficiency Rating) at 35.4, nearly three points higher than his best career mark. And he's already the all-time leader in that category.
It doesn't stop there. Jokic is also having his best season in W/S48 (Win Share per 48 minutes), again leading the league (he's led the category 5 of the last 6 seasons), and he's having his best season in both OBPM (Offensive Box Plus/Minus) and BPM (Box Plus Minus). The Joker is the all-time leader in these three efficiency categories, too.
The three-time NBA MVP keeps improving season after season. It's pretty incredible. The case for best basketball player on the planet keeps getting stronger by the game. We, as Nuggets fans, know how lucky we are to have the best player in the league on our team.
The key to another championship is going to be centered on the health of the rest of the team this season. If the Nuggets can enter the playoffs as a three-seed or better in the West, the Joker should be well-positioned to win MVP number four. and set the table for the Nuggets' postseason run.