Nikola Jokic trails LeBron James for 2nd-most games leading a team in points, rebounds, & assists

Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic trails only LeBron James for the second-most NBA games leading his team in points, rebounds, and assists. The two-time MVP has recorded 159 such games across his nine-year career.

Through 21 seasons, James has logged 231 such games. In Denver’s 114-109 win over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night, Jokic posted his 13th triple-double of the season — amassing 31 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Per multiple NBA betting sites, Jokic holds second-shortest odds below Joel Embiid to win MVP this season. Sportsbooks are still showing great odds for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic.

Nikola Jokic last night:

✅ 31 PTS
✅ 13 REB
✅ 10 AST

It’s the 159th game in which Jokic has led his team — either outright or tied — in points, rebounds, and assists, good for second place on the NBA’s all-time behind LeBron James (231).

Read & share: https://t.co/NZfkqk6O2f pic.twitter.com/ER5RFujRuv

— Justin Kubatko (@jkubatko) January 24, 2024

Late during the fourth quarter of Denver’s 113-104 victory against the Washington Wizards, Jokic was serenaded with MVP chants by fans while attempting his last free throws.

“That’s unique,” Malone said. “It doesn’t happen very often, so I think it’s just recognizing greatness. Here’s a guy who was a two-time MVP as a second-round draft pick that brought a franchise its first world championship in history, and he’s a Finals MVP as well.”

Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic leads NBA this season in triple-doubles, win shares, box plus/minus, etc.

Based on the available analytics, Jokic is projected to win MVP this season. The long-term odds are not in Embiid’s favor. The Philadelphia 76ers center can only miss seven more of the remaining 40 games to be eligible for the award.

The new collective bargaining agreement requires players to appear in at least 65 regular-season games to be eligible for MVP and the All-NBA teams. Embiid has missed 10 games, whereas Jokic has missed just one.

In his ninth NBA season, Jokic is averaging 26.2 points, 12 rebounds, 9.1 assists, 1.1 steals, and 33.6 minutes per game. The five-time All-Star is shooting 59% from the field, 36.2% from deep, and 82.5% at the foul line.

“If you want to be successful, you need to be bad. Then you need to be good and when you are good, you need to fail. When you fail, you’re going to figure it out. There is a process. There are steps you need to fill. There are no shortcuts, it’s a journey,” Nikola Jokic pic.twitter.com/FagK2ZyJu6

— The Winning Difference (@thewinningdiff1) January 22, 2024

Over his last 16 games, Jokic has averaged 25.7 points, 70.7% shooting from the floor, 54.2% shooting from 3-point range, and 90.2% shooting at the line.

His true shooting percentage is 77.5%, the highest such figure in NBA history over a 16-game span in which a player averaged 20 or more points per game.

In addition to leading the league in triple-doubles this season, Jokic is ahead in win shares (9.7), box plus/minus (14.4), offensive box plus/minus (9.9), and value over replacement player (6.2).