Is Nikola Jokic playing the best peak basketball of any NBA player ever? Humongous 2024-25 stats examined
Nikola Jokic is in the midst of one of the most dominant seasons in the history of the NBA. Here's why his numbers are unmatched.
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Nikola Jokic is breaking history books with his unbelievable offensive impact
Nikola Jokic is in the midst of one of the greatest seasons in NBA history and is playing some of the best basketball of his career. Not just statistically but on the tape as well. Watch any game from Jokic this season, and it’s hard to believe there has ever been an NBA player playing basketball at a level as high as the one being displayed by Jokic at the moment.
From draining full-court shots to bending defenses at his will with his passing and scoring ability, Nikola Jokic is an anomaly on the offensive end of the court. For the season, Jokic is averaging 30.2 points, 13.4 rebounds and 10.1 assists in 38 games. He’s putting up these numbers while shooting 56.4% from the field and a blazing 47.4% from three on over 4 attempts a game.
These are unreal numbers coming from a 7-foot giant, but even they don’t do justice to the greatness that we are seeing on a daily basis from Jokic. Let’s take a deep dive and explore some of the numbers that have set the Serbain big man apart from the rest of the crowd, and have turned him into one of the greatest threats on the offensive end of the floor that the NBA has ever seen.
Nikola Jokic is creating history in player efficiency
While Nikola Jokic’s basic stats jump off the statsheet, it’s when we take a deeper dive into the numbers that we see the true significance of what he’s doing. While he is already averaging a 30-point triple double across the season with his current numbers, including his recent historic performance with Russell Westbrook, Jokic’s PER is breaking all records.
PER, or Player Efficiency Rating, is a stat that is an all-encompassing metric designed to reflect a player’s contributions across the box score in a single number. Some of the greatest seasons in NBA history like Michael Jordan’s historic 1987-88 season or Wilt Chamberlain’s 1961-62, recorded PER’s of 31.7 and 32.1 respectively.
Before the start of the 2024-25 season, Nikola Jokic had recorded the season with the highest PER in NBA history during his 2021-22 MVP campaign with a 32.9 PER. This year, Jokic is blowing his own record out of the water, recording a staggering 33.6 PER, which would easily set a new record. In fact, for his career, Jokic is already the all-time leader in PER.
Nikola Jokic is breaking the game with his shooting
Nikola Jokic’s dominance in the paint has been well recorded over the years. He has been one of the most prolific scoring threats from within 10 feet of the rim. While his shooting from deep has seen its ups and downs, what Jokic is doing from behind the arc right now is unprecedented.
Last season, Jokic shot a respectable 35.9% from the 3-point line en route to his 3rd MVP Win. This season, not only is Jokic among the league leaders in points, assists, rebounds and steals, he is somehow simultaneously the second-best shooter in the entire NBA by percentage. Jokic trails only Luke Kennard in 3pt percentage, shooting a ridiculous 47.9% from beyond the arc.
He is 3rd in points per game.
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) January 24, 2025
He is 3rd in rebounds per game.
He is 2nd in assists per game.
He is 4th in steals per game.
He is 11th in eFG%.
He is tied for 1st in 3-point percentage.
What. The Fuck. Is Happening. https://t.co/ZT2RwRO2oP
If these numbers hold, Jokic is well on pace to set the single greatest big man shooting season on record. It sounds absurd to think that the best passer and paint scorer in the league is also unguaradable from beyond the arc.
We are at a point in the NBA where the greatness of Nikola Jokic on the offensive end might be taken for granted. Although Jokic has won 3 MVP’s already, he may be putting up his best season yet, and is somehow not the clear cut favorite to win the MVP award.
It seems like his career is at a point where the MVP might not do justice to appreciate what we are witnessing in front of our eyes with Jokic. How high can this unicorn of a basketball player go remains the only question surrounding the Serbian sensation. Still at just 29-years of age, Jokic is only just into the prime of his career. With the trajectory he is currently on, we may very well be seeing the greatest basketball player of all time.
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Armaan Gupta
(355 Articles Published)