Nikola Jokic has been can’t-miss viewing this season. Monday night, he literally couldn’t miss.
Jokic put up a triple-double of 14 points, 11 rebounds and 16 assists in the Denver Nuggets‘ win over the Los Angeles Lakers, and he didn’t miss a single shot while doing so. The Joker made all five of his field goal attempts, including a three-pointer, and all three of his free throws.
In the second game of the 2018 season, Jokic had a triple-double (35-11-11) where he made all 11 of his field goal attempts, but he missed one of his 11 free throws in that game, falling just short of perfection.
Draymond Green has two games of where he shot 100% from the floor in a triple-double, but he missed two free throws in each of them. Wilt Chamberlain did it twice as well, but went 6-12 and 6-14 from the charity stripe in those games.
Russell Westbrook had the first “perfect” triple-double in 2017, making all his shots and free throws in an 18-point, 11-rebound, 14-assist game against the 76ers. But Westbrook, perhaps wisely, didn’t attempt a single three-pointer in that game. The only player to match Jokic’s feat is Evan Turner, who made all five shots, both free throws and his one three-pointer on April Fools Day in 2019, finishing with a perfect 13-11-10 effort.
Jokic is shooting a career-high 61.6 percent from the floor this year, and has a true shooting percentage of 69.1 percent. That would rank 14th all-time, but the difference between Jokic and the players above him is that he shoots a lot. Rudy Gobert set the single-season record last year, but he was taking just eight shots per game. Jokic puts up 15.2 per game, and he has by far the most efficient shooting of anyone averaging 25 points per game.
The only flaw in Jokic’s perfect evening was his four turnovers. Even so, for the season he has a sparkling assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.8, better than all but Tyrese Haliburton among the NBA’s top seven in assists (Jokic is third with 9.7 per game).
It still may be a tough road for Jokic to win a third straight MVP award, the first since Larry Bird in 1986. To overcome voter fatigue, he may have to play perfectly. On Monday at least, Jokic pulled it off.
