Russell Westbrook will retire as the NBA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles, but he may not have that title when his Denver Nuggets teammate Nikola Jokić is done.
The three-time NBA MVP scored 27 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists Thursday in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, giving him the 139th triple-double of his career. That ranks ahead of Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson for third all-time.
Only Westbrook (200) and Oscar Robertson (181) have more.
Few statues are built on the basis of being third best at something, but Jokić seems to have a very real chance of catching Westbrook (not that he needs to for a statue). Westbrook currently has 61 more triple-doubles than Jokić, but Westbrook is 36 years old and Jokić is 29. That gives the big man plenty of runway to fill the stat sheets on his way to history.
Jokić recorded 85 triple-doubles in the four full seasons since his first MVP award and already has nine in 17 games this season. That rate of triple doubles in 27.3% of games played means Jokić needs to play approximately 223 games to catch up to Westbrook, or less than three seasons.
So barring a serious injury or a sudden drop in form, Jokić appears to have a good chance.
That ongoing chase is just a small part of a season in which Jokić once again appears to be the favorite for MVP. It’s not just because of his formidable counting stats, as his impact on his team is… marked:
Even though Jokić continues his MVP form, it has been a challenging season for the Nuggets, who are 11-9 after falling to the Cavs. Denver still has its stars, but has also seen some attrition since winning its title in 2023, such as the losses of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown. It has not been easy to find replacements.