Who thought a boy drafted during a Taco Bell commercial in the 2014 NBA draft could be a legend of the sport? Well, Nikola Jokic comes to say hello with another triple-double equaling the great Magic Johnson. It’s something really extraordinary in this day and age for a Serbian player to dominate basketball like no other.

Yet, Jokic gets it. He gets the job done and understands what he needs to do to create historic moments. Well, he just created another, and he didn’t watch the Los Angeles Lakers legend play. But how could he? Thus, the reporters wanted to understand if Jokic took a lesson from Magic’s playbook.

“Yeah, I mean, of course. Highlights and this and that. But I didn’t like watch, like study him, but I, of course, watched him in highlights and all the good passes he had,” mentioned the Joker, in full respect for a legend. Just imagine, how can Joker watch him play when he was just a 1-year-old toddler and Magic left the Lakers in 1996? At least he saw the highlights and equaled his record of getting inspired by Magic.

The player equaled the legendary Magic Johnson in the number of triple-doubles and moved to third place at 138. Eventually, it won’t be a surprise when he passes him by claiming his 139th triple-double in the next game. Ahead of him lies Oscar Robertson with 181 triple-doubles.

And you can take a guess who leads the way!

Nikola Jokic’s teammate, Russell Westbrook, reached the 200 triple-double milestone and recreated Wilt Chamberlain’s famous 100-point game by writing the numbers on paper. It’s incredible to see two players on the same team being triple-double monsters, let alone one.

Nikola Jokic and Magic Johnson have shades of similarity!

Notably, the two players are one of the two out of six players in NBA history to have at least 100 career triple-doubles. It’s an incredible record. But you must look at the top six players to understand why Jokic’s achievement is unimaginable. Apart from Jokic, all the other top 5 members are guards or forwards.

Westbrook is an explosive point guard, the same as Oscar Robertson who dishes out assists from the point. Then comes Magic and then Jokic. After that, LeBron James makes the list with 118. The small forward loves to pick out a pass. You look at Jokic and he plays in the center position. It wouldn’t be outrageous to suggest that the league has not seen a big man with his passing skills.

The player can perform a flashy pass like Magic Johnson, Jason Kidd, or even the iconic Jayson Williams of the Sacramento Kings. The skill set for a player who is 6’11” is eye-opening to the basketball fraternity. Similarly, Magic Johnson was a 6’9″ guard, one-of-its-kind, in the league. The name suits him well. Some of the ridiculous behind-the-back passes were incredible, and he undoubtedly was a magician on the court.

If you look at the stats, it’s similar as well. One of Magic Johnson’s best triple-double performances was against the Atlanta Hawks on February 19, 1988, as he finished the game with 29 points, 19 assists, 11 rebounds, and 1 steal. If you see Jokic this season, he’s averaging an incredible triple-double season with 29.6 points, 13.2 rebounds, 10.7 assists and even 1.5 steals.

I mean, talk about a talent for the ages. Phew!!

It’s incredible to see him perform at the highest level and we won’t be surprised if he beats Westbrook’s triple-double record with the guy just 29. Do you think it will happen?