The last NBA player with this kind of stat line? Wilt Chamberlain in 1968, when Planet of the Apes was a new movie just hitting theaters.
Nikola Jokic scored 40 points with 27 rebounds, 10 assists, and two steals Sunday night in a triple-double against the Hornets.
Nikola Jokic put up historic numbers in the Nuggets win tonight.
— NBA (@NBA) December 19, 2022
40 PTS
27 REB
10 AST
2 STL
He's the first player to record 40+ PTS, 25+ REB, and 10+ AST in a game since Wilt Chamberlain in 1968. pic.twitter.com/JfKjl9Ngi6
Jokic got to that triple-double partly because coach Michael Malone had to lean on him in the fourth quarter when the Nuggets bench struggled to hold on to a lead. Jokic scored 13 points in the third by hitting a couple of 3-pointers and getting to the line six times.
Denver hung on for the 119-115 win. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 20 for the Nuggets, while LaMelo Ball paced the Hornets with 31.
Jokic, the reigning back-to-back MVP, is again putting up numbers that inject him into that conversation: 24.6 points, 10.3 rebounds and nine assists a game. A three-peat may be a tough sell with some voters — especially in a season with a deep list of players having strong campaigns, such as Jayson Tatum and Giannis Antetokounmpo — but Jokic has to be in the conversation.
And a historic 40-point triple-double is the kind of performance that sticks in voters’ minds.