The Master of the Mile High: Nikola Jokić’s Relentless Assault on the Record Books
As December 2025 draws to a close, the NBA is no longer merely witnessing a great player in his prime; it is witnessing a fundamental rewriting of what is possible on a basketball court. Nikola Jokić, the Denver Nuggets’ three-time MVP, has spent the last month orchestrating a statistical symphony that has left historians scrambling to update their ledgers.
From a Christmas Day masterpiece to eclipsing legends like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jokić is not just chasing ghosts—he is leaving them in his wake.
The Christmas Miracle: The 55/15/15 Threshold
The crown jewel of Jokić’s recent run came on December 25, 2025, in a game already being hailed as an “instant classic.” Facing the Minnesota Timberwolves in a high-stakes divisional battle, Jokić delivered a performance that defied logic.
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The Milestone: Jokić recorded 56 points, 16 rebounds, and 15 assists.
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Historical Context: He became the first player in the 79-year history of the NBA to record a 55/15/15 game. To put that in perspective, such a line eluded even Wilt Chamberlain, who once averaged 50 points per game, and Oscar Robertson, the original king of the triple-double.
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The Overtime Takeover: After the Timberwolves erased a late 15-point lead to force overtime, Jokić entered a “God Mode” rarely seen. He scored 18 points in the five-minute overtime period, shattering Stephen Curry’s previous NBA record of 17 points in an extra session.
Jokić’s overtime efficiency was staggering: he went 3-for-3 from the field (including two three-pointers) and 10-for-11 from the free-throw line, single-handedly outscoring the Timberwolves in the extra frame to secure a 142-138 victory.
Passing the Captain: The Center Assist Record
On December 19, 2025, Jokić reached a milestone that many thought would stand for decades. By recording 13 assists in a win over the Orlando Magic, he officially passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most career assists by a center in NBA history.
The truly remarkable aspect of this record isn’t just that he broke it, but the speed at which he did so:
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: 5,660 assists in 1,560 games (20 seasons).
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Nikola Jokić: 5,667 assists in 771 games (11 seasons).
Jokić achieved in roughly half the games what it took the league’s second-all-time leading scorer two decades to accomplish. This feat effectively ended the debate over the greatest passing big man in history, moving Jokić into the Top 50 of all players regardless of position.
The Triple-Double Tracker: Chasing Oscar and Russ
Jokić’s pursuit of the all-time triple-double crown has become the NBA’s most watched sub-plot. As of December 29, 2025, the leaderboard stands at a precipice:
| Rank | Player | Career Triple-Doubles |
| 1 | Russell Westbrook | 207 |
| 2 | Oscar Robertson | 181 |
| 3 | Nikola Jokić | 180 |
With 180 regular-season triple-doubles, Jokić needs just one to tie and two to pass “The Big O” for second place all-time. Given that he has recorded 16 triple-doubles in just 31 games this season—a nearly 52% clip—it is almost a certainty that he will claim the #2 spot before the calendar turns to 2026.
At his current pace, the all-time record held by Russell Westbrook is well within reach by the end of this season or early next year.
A Historic Three-Game Stretch
Perhaps the most “Jokić” stat of the season came this past week. Following the Nuggets’ game against the Magic on December 27, Jokić became the first player in NBA history to log over 110 points, 40 rebounds, and 40 assists in a mere three-game span.
His averages over that week—36.6 PPG, 13.3 RPG, and 13.3 APG—are numbers that resemble a video game on “Rookie” difficulty, yet he is doing it against the world’s most elite defenses while facing constant double and triple-teams.
The Verdict: Greatness in Real-Time
What makes this run “remarkable” is the efficiency. Jokić is currently shooting 60.4% from the field and a career-high 44% from three-point range. He is doing more with less, as the Nuggets have been playing without key starters Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun.
As Nuggets guard Peyton Watson put it after the Christmas win: “We’re watching history on a night-to-night basis. Don’t blink.” Nikola Jokić isn’t just playing basketball; he is performing a nightly audit of the NBA record books, and the results are consistently legendary.
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