Nikola Jokic thanks the fans after the game against the Memphis Grizzlies on April 7, 2022.
Nikola Jokic has crossed a statistical threshold not even Wilt Chamberlain has touched.
With a fourth-quarter basket over a double-team in Friday’s win over Memphis, Nikola Jokic became the first player in NBA history to accumulate at least 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 assists in a single season.
The crowd recognized the achievement with a standing ovation chants of “MVP” for the league’s reigning Kia Most Valuable Player, who accomplished the statistical feat despite taking a blow to the head earlier in the game that drew blood and saw him don a headband.
👏 Nikola Jokic receives a standing ovation in Denver after becoming the first player in NBA History with 2K points, 1K rebounds, and 500 assists in a season. pic.twitter.com/ef8YrkkMDL
— NBA (@NBA) April 8, 2022
Chamberlain came up short by eight points of that specific combination in the 1967-68 season, the year he led the league in assists. He won the league’s Most Valuable Player award that season, an honor Jokic is jostling to earn for the second straight year despite impressive campaigns from Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid.
Jokic’s late-season surge also saw him become the first player since Chamberlain to register at least 35 points and 12 rebounds in five straight games since Chamberlain.
Despite long-term injuries to supporting teammates Jamal Murray (ACL) and Michael Porter Jr. (back), Jokic has lifted Jokic to a guaranteed playoff spot for a fourth straight season. The Nuggets have won at least one postseason round in each the previous three years.