Nikola Jokić Makes History in Return From Injury

After a five-game hiatus due to an ankle impingement, Nikola Jokić reminded everyone why he is the current best player in the world. In a victory over the undermanned Milwaukee Bucks, Jokić notched his 30th triple-double of the season. In fairness, the Bucks were without their superstar duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. Still, Jokić’s presence alone instantly upgraded a Denver roster that had been up-and-down as of late. The Nuggets were wildly inconsistent during the big man’s time away from the squad. In Jokić’s return, one could tell why he is in the MVP conversation year after year. After the victory over the Bucks, the Nuggets improved to a win-loss record of 46-28 and are third in the Western Conference standings as of March 27th,2025. 

Nikola Jokić’s Historic Night 

His Triple-Double Against the Milwaukee Bucks

Nikola Jokić broke his own franchise record for most triple-doubles recorded in a season for the Denver Nuggets. By recording his 30th this year, he joins his teammate, Russell Westbrook along with Oscar Robertson and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in league history to record at least 30 triple-doubles in a single season. Jokić is currently on pace to average a triple-double for the season. The only other players to ever do this happen to also be his cohort in Russell Westbrook and Oscar Robertson. On the year, the Joker is tallying 29.3 points, 10.3 assists, and 12.8 total rebounds per game. He is also averaging insane shooting splits of 57.6 percent from the field, 41.5 percent from three-point range, and 80.3 percent from the free-throw line.

Against the short-handed Bucks, Nikola Jokić smelled blood in the proverbial basketball water. He had his way on offense and even looked more active and spry on the defensive end of the floor. There were even a few instances where the big man was closing out on three-point shot attempts after switching multiple screens. A promising sign in terms of his health even if a few of the shots did go in for Milwaukee. Nikola Jokić ended the night with a stat-line that read 39 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds. He was also efficient as usual as the superstar center shot 64.0 percent from the field, 50.0 percent from beyond the arc, and 57.1 percent from the charity stripe. The free-throw shooting was the only aspect where he Jokić was not up to par. In every other facet though, Nikola Jokić dominated. All in all, this was another performance that only aided his case for a fourth MVP award.