Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets tried his hardest on Tuesday night time, however his staff was nonetheless taken down by the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder.
The loss hurts, however a minimum of Jokic made historical past throughout Recreation 5.
In response to NBA.com/Stats, Jokic grew to become simply the eighth participant in league historical past to report 40+ factors and 15+ rebounds a number of instances throughout a single postseason.
He joins the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O’Neal, Elgin Baylor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, and Bob McAdoo.
Nikola Jokić turns into the eighth participant in NBA historical past to report 40+ factors and 15+ rebounds a number of instances in a single postseason collection becoming a member of…
Wilt Chamberlain (4x)
Shaquille O’Neal (2x)
Elgin Baylor (2x)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Hakeem Olajuwon
Charles Barkley
Bob McAdoo pic.twitter.com/M1QwcaYVUk— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) Might 14, 2025
On Tuesday, it was 44 factors and 15 rebounds for Jokic, together with 5 assists and two steals.
This was an incredible exhibiting by Jokic and significantly better than what he was doing simply days earlier than.
Consider it or not, Jokic was in a hunch earlier than this sport.
His subject objective proportion was weak, and he was performing extra turnovers than assists.
He appeared far more like his common self throughout Tuesday’s sport, and Nuggets followers are hoping he retains it that means.
Jokic’s greatness has by no means been in query, even throughout his few subpar video games.
He’s nonetheless thought of probably the greatest basketball gamers alive, and he usually has the flexibility to hold the staff on his again.
He did that a number of instances all through the common season, however the playoffs have offered a couple of challenges.
Currently, the Nuggets have appeared extra cohesive, which has given followers hope, however everybody believes they want a robust Jokic if they need any likelihood of a title.
Jokic has now made NBA historical past but once more, which is definitely an incredible factor.
However all NBA followers know that Jokic doesn’t care about that.
As a substitute, he desires one other championship, and, proper now, it’s not clear if that’s attainable.
NEXT: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Reveals Expectations For Nuggets In Recreation 6