Nikola Jokic continues to make NBA and Denver Nuggets history every single time he sets foot on the floor.
He’s already one of the greatest playmakers this game has ever seen, and we’re not talking just about big men.
In fact, after just 568 career games (527 starts), the former second-round pick has now become the Nuggets’ all-time leader in assists, topping Alex English.
Notably, English needed 837 games to record 3,679 assists, and Jokic has 3,686 already, so it’ll be a very long while before someone comes even close to him.
More than that, Jokic looked humbled and proud after reaching such an amazing milestone.
For the first time in his career, it seemed like he actually cared about making history:
“To be honest, maybe that’s the first thing I’m kind of proud of, just because hopefully my teammates love to play with me because I share the ball,” Jokic said postgame. “So maybe that’s the first time I was kind of proud, probably.”
Nikola Jokic on becoming the #Nuggets' all-time assist leader:
"To be honest, maybe that's the first thing I'm kind of proud of, just because hopefully my teammates love to play with me because I share the ball.
So maybe that's the first time I was kind of proud, probably." pic.twitter.com/32AcIbHa8s
— Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) January 19, 2023
Jokic is usually blunt, pragmatic, and quite down-to-Earth.
He even admitted that he has no clue as to where his first MVP trophy is and has often seemed unfazed by all his achievements throughout his career.
But The Joker is the kind of player who thrives while making others better, so you better believe this is something he has been looking forward to for quite a while now.
It’s crazy to think that a seven-footer is averaging 9.9 assists per game (and 6.5 per his career).
He currently ranks second in total assists (405) and assists per game this season, and he might as well end up leading both categories by the end of the season.
To put it in context, Jokic is averaging more assists per game than Chris Paul, Stephen Curry, Trae Young, Luka Doncic, and Ja Morant.
He also has more career assists than Kyrie Irving, Dirk Nowitzki, Pete Maravich, Chris Webber, Penny Hardaway, Steve Francis, Chris Mullin, Carmelo Anthony, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Jerry Stackhouse, and many more.
