Unbelievable Nikola Jokic stat proves he’s the best NBA player

Nuggets star man Nikola Jokic is making a strong case for the 'best player in the NBA' after posting some monstrous playoff stats.

Unbelievable Nikola Jokic stat proves he’s the best NBA player

Nikola Jokic

The expected 2025 NBA MVP and runner-up, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic, are currently facing each other in the Western Conference semifinals between the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder. Notably, it is the latter that has been making a strong case for the ‘MVP award’ alongside SGA. Not only the NBA award, but also the ‘best NBA player’ in general.

Three-time MVP winner Jokic produced one of his best campaigns in terms of statistics. He reached career highs of 29.6 points and 10.2 assists per game. In addition, he had the second-highest rebounding average of his career (12.7). Now, coming to the NBA playoffs, Jokic has seemed to take his game to a whole different level.

Per StatMuse, Jokic is leading not only in one but two segments of the game in the NBA playoffs. In the Most rebounds + assists this playoffs list, Jokic leads by a huge margin (252) with the Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton coming in second place with 148. This showcases the Joker’s immense versatility in the game, making him one of the best in the NBA.

As for the ongoing playoff series between the Nuggets and Thunder, after defeating the Nuggets 112-105 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals, the Thunder now lead 3-2. Despite Jokic outperforming his fellow NBA rivals, his side is still on the brink of elimination. This puts SGA in the driving seat for this year’s MVP award.

It’s also important to note that the top two players in the MVP voting have faced off in a postseason series for the 8th time since 1990. Michael Jordan was a part of four of the five instances that occurred during the NBA Finals. Five victories have been achieved by the team with the MVP. Hence, it will be interesting to watch if history repeats itself here.

Nikola Jokic made NBA history in a losing cause against OKC

Even if Nikola Jokic had recovered from his postseason shooting slump, the Denver Nuggets are now on the verge of elimination despite his 44-point outburst. In a 112-105 home loss, the three-time MVP was outstanding, tallying 44 points on 17/25 shooting, pulling down 15 rebounds, and dishing out five assists. So much so that this particular performance also made NBA history.

With a minimum of 40 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 assists in two of his games thus far in this series, Jokic played 44 minutes, including the whole second half. ESPN claims that he is the only NBA player in history to record several of these feats in a single postseason series.

Denver is now behind 3-2 and needs to win Game 6 on Thursday to survive, which Jokic and his teammates are still confident they can achieve. Jokic’s teammate Christian Braun claimed that the 3-time MVP ‘can do it again’ in a recent press conference. Braun does have a point here, as Jokic has produced immense comebacks all his career. However, it remains to be seen if he does it one more time this 2024-25 NBA playoffs.

Nuggets interim HC David Adelman hailed Nikola Jokic’s performance despite losing Game 5

The Thunder took the lead in the series for the first time, going 3-2 on Tuesday. Sadly for Nikola Jokic, he gave it his all in Game 5. His performance surely did not go unnoticed as his interim head coach David Adelman hailed his star’s efforts against the Thunder. David Adelman said

Nikola played incredible. I thought our effort was incredible, but we can play a lot better. I think it’s in these guys that if we create the open shots we created tonight, we’re going to have games where guys make shots behind it.

Before Tuesday night, Jokic had suffered greatly in the last three games by his three-time MVP standards. During that time, he shot 33.3% from the field (21-of-63), which was the first period in his career that he shot below 40% in three straight games with at least 15 shots.

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