Nikola Jokic’s 32-point, 14-rebound, 14-assist triple-double Saturday night against the Pacers was his sixth triple-double through nine games. Maybe that shouldn’t be a surprise, the man averaged a triple-double last season, but this season he has been even better, even more efficient.
“I think we should be talking about the efficiency numbers ...” Nuggets coach David Adelman said after the win. “He’s the most efficient basketball player I’ve ever seen. And I know there’s guys way back in the past I didn’t get to see play, but for me, in this modern generation of basketball, please show me who else is out there that plays like this at this efficient level offensively. It’s a joy to watch, and by the way, he did all that in 31 minutes.
“I’ll keep saying, just enjoy this. You know, while you get to have it.”
> Just Joker doing Joker things for yet ANOTHER triple-double!🃏 32 points🃏 14 boards🃏 14 assists🃏 10-14 shooting🃏 31 minutes
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> He's now got 6 in 9 games this season... and 170 in his NBA career 🤯 [pic.twitter.com/K5Q2BU7HR9](https://t.co/K5Q2BU7HR9)
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> — NBA (@NBA) [November 9, 2025](https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1987392095729094786?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
Saturday’s performance took place on the second night of a back-to-back, without Jamal Murray or Aaron Gordon in the lineup.
For this young season, Jokic is averaging 25.2 points, 13 rebounds and 11.9 assists a game. While his raw scoring number is down slightly from a season ago (29.6), the improved roster around him has allowed that and let him pick his spots. The result is that his assist numbers are up by 1.7 a game (and he now leads the league). More importantly, his shooting numbers inside the arc are much improved — 76.8% on two-pointers this season, up from a still impressive 62.7% last season. His true shooting percentage so far this season is 73.3 (for comparison, Jarrett Allen led the league in true shooting last season at 72.4, and he took 59.4% of his shots inside the restricted area and 93.6% within 10 feet).
Behind Jokic, the Nuggets are 7-2 with the second-best offense and defense in the league — they remain the biggest threat to Oklahoma City repeating as champs.
There’s a lot of season left, but we may be witnessing the best of Nikola Jokic, already one of the great players of his generation — what would a fourth MVP, or another title, do for his all-time player ranking? Vault him into the top 10?
We may find out, but for now we should just enjoy this. There has never been another player like him.