Triple-doubles, to be clear, are no surefire indicator of actual effect on winning. Is a player who finishes with double-digit points and assists on solid efficiency but grabs only eight rebounds less impactful than another who manages a triple-double while shooting 30% from the field? Of course not. Round numbers aren't any more meaningful than those slightly below them in a sport filled with as many possessions as basketball, and stat chasing almost always leads to diminishing returns.

Who cares least about individual accolades and arbitrary statistical thresholds among NBA stars? No doubt Nikola Jokic, whose enviable perspective on work-life balance foolishly led many to question his commitment to the game over the summer, mere months after he led the Denver Nuggets to their first ever championship. Jokic, obviously, has a deep love and appreciation for basketball. You don't become the best player in the world without it.

But what's more than safe to say is that he couldn't care less about triple-doubles, which makes the Nuggets superstar's historic pace at racking up those ballyhooed outputs all the more impressive.

Article Continues Below

Jokic has picked up where he left off in the NBA Finals during the early going of 2023-24, leading Denver to a perfect 4-0 start while averaging 26.5 points, 12.3 rebounds and 8.5 assists per game on a typically ridiculous 69.8 true shooting percentage. He has a pair of triple-doubles in four games, too.

Could Nikola Jokic get another one in Wednesday's matchup with Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert and the Minnesota Timberwolves? Either way, a rematch of last season's quietly hard-fought first-round playoff series will definitely be worth watching.