Nikola Jokić passes Magic Johnson for 3rd-most triple-doubles in NBA history

Russell Westbrook will retire as the NBA's all-time leader in triple-doubles, but he might not have that title by the time his Denver Nuggets teammate Nikola Jokić is done.

The three-time NBA MVP posted 27 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists on Thursday in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, giving him the 139th triple-double of his career. That moves ahead of Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson for the third-most ever.

Only Westbrook (200) and Oscar Robertson (181) have more.

Few statues are built on the basis of being third-best at something, but Jokić appears to have a very real shot of catching Westbrook (though it's not like he needs to do so 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 stat-sheet stuff his way to history.

Jokić posted 85 triple-doubles in the four full seasons since his first MVP award and already has nine in 17 games this season. That pace of triple doubles in 27.3% of games played works out to Jokić needing to play roughly 223 games to catch Westbrook, or less than three seasons.

So baring a major injury or sudden drop-off in form, Jokić appears to have a pretty good shot.

That ongoing chase is only a small part of a season in which Jokić once again appears to be the frontrunner for MVP. It's not only because of his formidable counting stats either, as his impact on his team is... stark:

Despite Jokić continuing his MVP form, it's 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 their title in 2023, such as the losses of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown. It hasn't been easy finding replacements.