SAN FRANCISCO — Nikola Jokić didn’t just play basketball on Sunday; he conducted a symphony in a losing effort. Despite the Denver Nuggets falling 128-117 to the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center, the “Joker” turned in his 21st triple-double of the season. The performance was so dominant it forced NFL legend Shannon Sharpe to pose a question that is currently set the sports world on fire: Is Nikola Jokić already a top-10 player in NBA history?
Sharpe took to X shortly after the final buzzer, suggesting that by the time Jokić hangs them up, finding ten players better than him might be an impossible task. The numbers back the hype. Through 42 games this season, the Serbian center is putting up a staggering 28.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 10.5 assists per night. He isn’t just winning; he is breaking the sport. Earlier this season, he matched Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook by opening the year with four straight triple-doubles.
The efficiency is what really separates him from the pack. Jokić is currently shooting 58.4% from the field. He’s on a collision course with history, potentially becoming the first center to ever average 30 points while maintaining 50/40/90 shooting splits. The Chase Center crowd, usually hostile to visitors, found itself silenced multiple times as Jokić nearly secured his triple-double before the halftime buzzer even sounded.
“I’m definitely concerned, because we are losing the games. We are losing the games, and we are not creating open looks. So that’s something that we need to change. … I don’t know what it is, but we need to figure it out.”
— Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets Center
While the individual accolades pile up, the team results have hit a snag. Denver has dropped six of its last nine games, sliding to a 36-22 record. The atmosphere in the locker room felt heavy after the Warriors loss. You could see it in the way Jokić stared at the stat sheet—not at his own historic numbers, but at the defensive lapses that allowed Golden State to pull away in the fourth quarter. The 2023 Finals MVP is clearly more interested in another ring than a fourth regular-season MVP trophy, yet his play keeps him at the top of The Ringer’s Top 100 list.
Denver needs to find its identity again before the playoff seeding gets out of hand. Jokić is carrying a historic load, but the supporting cast must step up to alleviate the pressure. His Christmas Day masterpiece—a 56-point, 16-rebound, 15-assist explosion against Minnesota—proved he can win games single-handedly, but that isn’t a sustainable formula for a June parade. Expect head coach Michael Malone to tighten the rotation as they head into a crucial home stand. If the winning doesn’t resume, the GOAT talk will remain a secondary story to Denver’s quest for consistency.
