NBA superstar Nikola Jokic received a couple of special trophies today to honor his historical feat of being the first player to lead the league in both rebounds and assists. Jokic was at practice ahead of the Denver Nuggets first round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the league sent him trophies to honor his historic feat.
Nuggets officials filmed Jokic receiving the award with the following footage and words from Jokic about the honor:
“Ohhh! Let’s go! Assists champion? They should put someone like John Stockton (on the award). Some advice for the NBA. And who is leading the league in rebounds (all time)? They need to put him on it. Just some advice. But thank you – I appreciate it. Cool.”
Jokic had a mild-mannered response to the achievement and revealed that he did appreciate getting yet another slew of trophies to add to his trophy case. Three MVP Awards, one NBA Championship, and an NBA Finals MVP have already been won by the superstar.
The most interesting thing from Jokic’s response was wanting to honor legends of the past. Jokic named John Stockton as an all-time great assist leader worthy of being on the trophy. Denver’s leader also wants the league to add an all-time great rebounder to the rebounding trophy as well.
Don’t Expect More Trophies For Jokic This Season
Jokic has been in the running for MVP discussions all season and even worked hard to come back earlier than expected from an injury to quality. Exactly 65 games played gives Jokic just enough games played to receive votes.
However, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander remains a strong favorite to win his second consecutive MVP Award. Jokic is likely to either finish second or third if Victor Wembanyama passes him in the voting as well to reward the San Antonio Spurs’ shocking breakout season.
The MVP is already out of reach, and the Nuggets are unlikely to win the NBA Championship. Three other teams hold strong favorable odds over Denver as the favorites in the postseason. Jokic will likely just receive these trophies and an All-NBA first-team selection for his hard work, unless he can shock the world with a legendary playoff run.
Jokic Had Clear Leads For Both Stats
The most impressive thing about Jokic making history of leading the league in two drastically different stats is the distance ahead of the next names on each list. Karl-Anthony Towns finished a full rebound per game behind Jokic as the two best rebounders this season.
Jokic had a lead of 0.8 assists per game over the second-best passer Cade Cunningham as well. Both categories featured Jokic gaining a lead early in the averages for each stat and never letting up after his early pace.
No other player has ever accomplished this feat, and only two other players have even averaged a triple double like Jokic. Russell Westbrook and Oscar Robertson did it, but they never dominated on rebounds to challenge the best centers in the league. Jokic is doing something that no other player has been capable of in NBA history.
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