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Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic is only in his fourth NBA season, but he has already passed legendary center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in one statistic.
After tallying 19 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds in the Nuggets' win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night, Jokic passed Abdul-Jabbar for 22nd on the all-time list for triple-doubles:
Jokic with his 22nd triple-double passes Kareem on the all-time list. It's his 6th of the season.
— Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) January 20, 2019
On the year, Jokic is averaging 19.6 points, 10.0 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.3 steals over 31 minutes per game while shooting 50.5 percent from the floor, 32.3 percent from 3-point range and 84.2 percent from the free-throw line.
That is a center averaging nearly eight assists per game. That is absolutely incredible.
The 23-year-old, who came over from Serbia, was originally selected by Denver in the second round (41st pick overall) of the 2014 NBA Draft. He played in 80 games for the Nuggets during his rookie campaign, making 55 starts. During that time, Jokic registered an impressive 10.0 points, 7.0 boards, 2.4 assists and a steal across 21.7 minutes a night while making 51.2 percent of his field goal attempts, 33.3 percent of his long-distance tries and 81.1 percent of his foul shots.
He then showed significant improvement during his second season, posting 16.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists through 27.9 minutes per game, connecting on 57.8 percent of his shots, 32.4 percent of his triples and 82.5 percent of his free throws.
Nikola Jokic demonstrated more steady improvement last year before breaking out in a big way this season.
The Nuggets now own a record of 31-14 on the year, good for second place in the Western Conference. They will get a few days off before heading on the road to take on the Utah Jazz this Wednesday.
