![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/jokic-minny-111525-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Nikola Joki\u0107 has 174 career triple-doubles and should pass Oscar Robertson (181) this season for 2nd on the list.<\/p>\n
The greats make it look routine, if not easy. Which brings us to Nikola Joki\u0107 and the fine art of the triple-double.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His tendency to pull off the statistical multi-task has progressed from casual to constant, and so far this year, habitual. It\u2019s actually a mild surprise when Joki\u0107 comes up short in double-figure points, rebounds and assists \u2026 almost as rare as the Oklahoma City Thunder losing a game in 2025-26.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For anyone else who compiles a triple-double in the NBA, it\u2019s headlines, a career feat for some, a wow. When it\u2019s Joki\u0107, it\u2019s a shrug and a well-that\u2019s-what-he-does.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And in NBA history, no center racked up the triple-doubles until Joki\u0107 developed a taste for it. That\u2019s what makes his triple-doubles so unprecedented, so unusual, so impressive. His passing makes those triple-doubles possible and distances him from other big men who collect double-doubles in points and rebounds. It\u2019s the main reason the Denver Nuggets center has three Kia MVPs and twice finished runner-up, all in the last five seasons \u2014 and this is the best statistical start of his career.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The NBA didn\u2019t recognize blocks until 1973-74<\/a>, and historians will remind you that Wilt Chamberlain, aside from his heavy scoring and rebounding, swatted shots at a rapid (and undocumented) rate. Surely Chamberlain had some triple-doubles in his day with those blocks. (Wilt even led the league in assists one season, when assists leaders were ranked by their totals, not per-game average, so he didn\u2019t average a triple.)\u00a0<\/p>\n What Joki\u0107 is doing is perhaps taken for granted by the basketball masses, but shouldn\u2019t be, and certainly isn\u2019t on the Kia Race to the MVP. He\u2019s still No. 1 on the MVP ladder this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n Only Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook made triple-doubles look this effortless, and Westbrook won an MVP<\/a> before folks got too used to it (and he didn\u2019t win another in his subsequent triple-double seasons). And, if it\u2019s so easy, why can\u2019t dozens of players drop triple-doubles (aside from the 3-point arc)?\u00a0<\/p>\n Joki\u0107 has 174 career triple-doubles and should pass Robertson (181) this season for second on the list. With Westbrook (205) in the home stretch of his career, Joki\u0107, 30, will likely become the all-time leader at some point.\u00a0<\/p>\n He has 10 triple-doubles in 17 games played this season (at 62% shooting efficiency). Some perspective: in his third season, he had 10 total triple-doubles, and in his second MVP season (2021-22), he had 19. So he\u2019s more than halfway there, and it\u2019s Thanksgiving week.\u00a0<\/p>\n Setting the stage this week:\u00a0Stephen Curry was the point guard of his generation, someone who obviously changed the game, took ownership of the 3-point shot, became the first unanimous MVP winner, won championships, and even placed himself on a first-name basis with non-basketball fans.\u00a0<\/p>\n Perhaps a transition is underway because Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is making a strong takeover attempt at the position. Gilgeous-Alexander is doing for the mid-range what Curry did for the 3-pointer, he has an MVP, a championship and could collect multiples before long. The two meet Tuesday, Oklahoma City at the Warriors (11 ET, Peacock<\/a>). Should be fun.\u00a0<\/p>\n The\u00a0stat\u00a0to know:\u00a0Only two players in Philadelphia 76ers history managed to drop 50 points and nine assists in a game. The latest is Tyrese Maxey, No. 8 on the ladder. The other? Wilt.\u00a0<\/p>\n What they are saying: \u201cHe might be the best player in the history of the NBA.\u201d \u2014\u00a0Stan Van Gundy, the former coach and current TV analyst, on Joki\u0107.\u00a0<\/p>\n 1. Nikola Joki\u0107, Denver Nuggets<\/p>\n Last week\u2019s ranking<\/a>:\u00a0No.\u00a01<\/p>\n Season stats<\/a>:\u00a029.6\u00a0points,\u00a012.8\u00a0rebounds,\u00a011.1 assists<\/p>\n His case:\u00a0What\u2019s also admirable about Joki\u0107 is his durability. Unlike others on this Ladder, he hasn\u2019t missed a game. Only once in his career has he played less than 70 games in a season (69 games in 2022-23). Joki\u0107 doesn\u2019t even like to rest, telling coaches he\u2019d rather stay on the floor and stay in rhythm. Whenever he is on the bench or in street clothes, the Nuggets suffer historically, at least they did before this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n One more thing: Joki\u0107 occasionally gets grief for his defense \u2014 that\u2019s more of a nit-pick by folks searching for flaws \u2014 yet he\u2019s No. 18 in the league<\/a> in steals per game (1.6 spg). Last season, he ranked among the leaders in points, rebounds, assists and steals, and is on pace to do so again. \u00a0<\/p>\n 2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder<\/p>\n Last week\u2019s ranking<\/a>: No. 2<\/p>\n Season stats<\/a>:\u00a032.6\u00a0points,\u00a04.9\u00a0rebounds, 6.6 assists<\/p>\n His case: Gilgeous-Alexander puts OKC games out of reach, often by halftime, certainly by the third quarter, before he takes the rest of the night off. His scoring, shooting efficiency and ability to protect the ball (less than two turnovers per game) bolster his MVP case.\u00a0<\/p>\n Still operating without All-NBA teammate Jalen Williams (who reportedly will make his debut Friday<\/a>), Gilgeous-Alexander remains the unquestioned centerpiece of the Thunder\u2019s offense. It will be curious how much Gilgeous-Alexander cedes when Williams returns, and if so, whether that \u2014 along with resting in fourth quarters \u2014 affects his place on the ladder given the steep competition for MVP this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n 3. Luka Don\u010di\u0107, Los Angeles Lakers<\/p>\n Last week\u2019s ranking<\/a>:\u00a0No.\u00a03<\/p>\n Season stats<\/a>:\u00a035.2\u00a0points,\u00a08.8\u00a0rebounds,\u00a09.2 assists<\/p>\n His case: He\u2019s coming off one of the more impressive single-game efforts of the season by anyone, an efficient, 43-point near triple-double<\/a> against the Clippers, where Don\u010di\u0107 showed all the supreme skills. What\u2019s interesting is how comfortable he appears, not only with the Lakers and his role, but in L.A. He seems to like his surroundings.\u00a0<\/p>\n Also, how is Don\u010di\u0107 already in the top 10 in Lakers history<\/a> with 40-point games? He just arrived yesterday. He also has more 40-pointers this season than any player.\u00a0<\/p>\n 4. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks<\/p>\n Last week\u2019s ranking<\/a>:\u00a0No.\u00a04<\/p>\n Season stats<\/a>:\u00a031.2 points,\u00a010.8\u00a0rebounds, 6.8 assists<\/p>\n His case: Antetokounmpo pre-injury was a potential Ladder leader, someone who powered the Bucks nightly at both ends and stayed among the league\u2019s best scorers (63.6% from the floor, 50% from deep) and rebounders.\u00a0<\/p>\n Of course, Antetokounmpo must be available to help his team and to remain eligible for seasonal awards. For the sake of his spot on the Ladder, his return should come any day now as he ramps up from an adductor injury. However, he has missed six of Milwaukee\u2019s 19 games and the Bucks are starting to fade in the East. Look at it another way: the truest sign of a player\u2019s value is when his team nosedives without him.\u00a0<\/p>\n 5. Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons<\/p>\n Last week\u2019s ranking<\/a>:\u00a0No.\u00a05<\/p>\n Season stats<\/a>:\u00a028.1\u00a0points,\u00a06.1 rebounds,\u00a09.3 assists<\/p>\n His case: Cunningham would love to have that missed free-throw attempt back, which ultimately cost the Pistons vs. the Celtics on Wednesday and ended their 13-game win streak<\/a>. But of course, he put Detroit in position to win that close game \u2014 42 points, eight rebounds, five assists \u2014 as well as the others during that hot streak.\u00a0<\/p>\n With November coming to a close, Cunningham is averaging 31.1 ppg, 9.9 apg and 6.4 rpg as Detroit has gone 9-1 in the games he\u2019s played. That\u2019s worthy of a top-five ranking on the Ladder.\u00a0<\/p>\n The next 5:<\/p>\n 6. Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs And five more (listed alphabetically):\u00a0Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks; Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors; Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves; Brandon Ingram, Toronto Raptors; Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Lakers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Shaun Powell has covered the NBA since 1985. You can e-mail him at\u00a0spowell@nba.com<\/a>, find\u00a0his archive here<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0follow him on\u00a0X<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nikola Joki\u0107 has 174 career triple-doubles and should pass Oscar Robertson (181) this season for 2nd on the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":440514,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3781],"tags":[7,301,187,3943,3655,6,302],"class_list":{"0":"post-440513","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-denver-nuggets","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-denver","10":"tag-denver-nuggets","11":"tag-denvernuggets","12":"tag-kia-mvp-ladder","13":"tag-nba","14":"tag-nuggets"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115627552236073758","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=440513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440513\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/440514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=440513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=440513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=440513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
7. Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
8. Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers
9. Alperen Sengun, Houston Rockets
10. Jalen Johnson, Atlanta Hawks<\/p>\n