Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic is in the midst of an MVP season and has etched his name in the NBA record books along the way, as did Wilt Chamberlain in his day.
Jokic is the reigning MVP having won the award in two consecutive seasons. Should he win this season’s MVP award, he will become only the fourth player in league history along with Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird to win three MVP awards in a row.
Jokic has reached Wilt Chamberlain levels with his stats this season. After the Nuggets’ game against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, Jokic reached 600 assists in a single season. Chamberlain is the only other center to have accomplished that feat according to StatMuse.
Jokic total assists:
600 – This season
599 – 1st MVP season
584 – 2nd MVP seasonThe first center since Wilt to record 600+ assists in a season. pic.twitter.com/8cIIGZC2RD
– StatMuse (@statmuse) March 13, 2023
Since Jokic was drafted into the NBA, he has become one of the best assisting centers the game has ever seen. During his first season as MVP, he finished the year with 599 assists. Last year he finished at 584. Now he is already at 600 with 14 games to play.
This season Jokic averaged 24.7 points per game, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 1.3 steals, shooting 62.8% from the field, 40.8% from the three-point line and 81.3% from the free throw line.
His assists are at career highs, as are his shooting percentage from the field and three-point shooting percentage. Jokic is also on the verge of becoming the first non-guard to average a triple double for an entire season. The only other players to have made it are Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook.
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