There are many different ways to analyze the dominance of Nikola Jokic on a basketball court. There is no wrong way to show off his incredible abilities, but by that same token, there is no single correct way to quantify all that Jokic does for the Nuggets.
The awards and accolades help; just based on his trophy shelf he’s in the discussion for one of the ten (or so) best players in NBA history. The three league MVP awards speak pretty loudly. So does the 2023 Finals MVP trophy. Four times making first-team all-NBA and six trips to the all-star game don’t hurt either.
But even these incredible achievements don’t tell the full story. Jokic impacts the game in so many ways, both subtle and obvious, that unless you’re closely watching him on every possession, it’s hard to fully grasp it all.
Over the years, NBA fans have almost become numb to a lot of Jokic’s stats - and NBA stats in general. We are so accustomed to seeing stuffed boxscores and gaudy final numbers that we’ve just become used to it. We are programmed to expect massive stat lines, and that’s a testament to what the Joker and his contemporaries are capable of.
Jokic the only player top-15 in points, rebounds, and assists
One way to contextualize the stats and appreciate just how much better Jokic is than his rivals around the league is to look at a fun fact pointed out by the Denver Nuggets’ official team Twitter account recently.
The fact is that last season, Jokic was the only player in the NBA to finish top 15 on a per-game average in points, rebounds, and assists. Maybe as a Jokic fan, this is something you already just assumed to be true. But that speaks to how ordinary he has made dominating.
In an era of advanced stats and analytics, most fans still gravitate to those big three categories; points, rebounds, and assists. Everyone loves a triple-double double and those are the main stats that most often make up that achievement.
And yet, even with those stats front and center, and players all across the league racking them up effortlessly, Jokic stands alone. He’s the only player truly getting it done in all three of those phases of the game. There are players who rank near the top in two of the three categories, but none are as consistent across the board as the Joker.
It’s just a testament to Jokic. He basically provides the production of an elite point guard and center at the same time. To do everything he does so unselfishly and in a way that maximizes his teammates makes it all even better.
No information here is revelatory and there is no actionable takeaway. This is just your daily reminder that Nikola Jokic is the best basketball player in the world and Nuggets fans are very lucky to be able to watch and enjoy him on a daily basis.